You mean.... when SHE gets back. I still can't belive there are women playing games like Dom3.

You are in, ghostwes.

That's right, EA Ermor is "normal," kind of a Rome to Arcoscephale's Greece.  The zombie apocalypse doesn't start until the Late Age.

All nations pics are in. Game is set up on llamaserver. All relevant info is in the original post.

Let's get those pretenders in!

If your Dominions 3 directory does not have a saved games folder, you will find it in C:\Users\**YourUserName**\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\dominions3

AppData might be hidden by default. You can thank Vista and Windows 7 for that

Okay, done. 

Couple of questions, before we start:

1) Diplomacy - what does it mean, "keep your word"? I don't think it's wise making obligatory rules about what you can and cannot say - I am a player of the tabletop "Diplomacy", and everyone can say and do whatever he pleases there... what others make of it is their problem.

2) What will be time-limit on turns? We should have some, I propose one move per day - definitely not shorter, as we come from different time zones. 

Keep your word means if you agree to a nonaggression pact, you do not attack without giving notice.Typically, they are made with a three turn period between the breaking of the pact and the time that attacking is allowed. You are free to negotiate whatever you want.

If you agree to a trade, such as gems for items, you actually make your trade.

If you do not want to enter into a binding agreement, then do not enter any.

You do not have to meet in game to contact. I personally wait until contact, but that is a personal choice.

It will start with 24 hours per turn. Extend to 48 at turn 20, 72 hours at turn 30. If people need turns extended sooner, that can be done.

Just submitted my fiery pretender.  Prepare to be burned in the flames of Abysia, foolish mortals!

I guess that applies not to the map itself, but to a specific game people played before us on the same map. I tried a test SP game with the same amount of players, and no problems whatsoever occurred. There is, however, a lake surrounded by land provinces - if Atlantis starts inside, he is pretty much goner

whats a jarl rush....?    working on pretender now... almost totally lost.. but will muddle through.....   and  (in character) "...fear the dark, my lads, be very afraid..."  (end in character).   Will set up an email account just for this game....  and post it here, since some players don't allow email on this site.  - Mistress of the Dark

pretender emailed a minute ago

agree with louis... i still have no idea what a 'boost' is... or how the sequence of imp[lementing turn orders are, or how to 'script' a pretender.... etc.. so a friendly (but violent) game would be nice.    BTW, are there any 'exploits' and if so, should we agree NOT to use them?

I agree, ElanaAhova -- that would be unfair to the Atlantis player.

Though I'm kind of wondering if we will even have an Atlantis player... It's been over 24 hours and no response from the last three players. How long should we wait? Is there any way to contact them to remind them? (Does the messaging system actually send out a real email or is it all internal?)

I have no problems answering any questions anyone have now or might have during the game.

A boost might refer to a number of different things, which makes that a hard question to answer. Could you be more specific, Elana?

Scripting is assigning a commander or group of soldier battlefield orders.Each unit or commander can be given up to 5(?) predefined orders, from "attack" to "cast spell x, then spell y, then spell z...." Generally, you want to give your spell casters orders to cast a few defensive spells on themselves at the start of battle, such as "bark skin," "twist fate," or "body ethereal."

A very basic, but still useful, tactic is to place units with high protection (especially those with shields!) in front of your ranged units, and give them the order "hold and attack," which causes them to hold ground for 4 turns before moving to attack, often soaking up ranged fire and spells that would be more dangerous for your archers.

Another useful order is to give your scout(s) the order to retreat, and place them on the rear. This causes them to run if they are ever detected while sneaking. Otherwise, they will charge blindly to their death.

While you play without issuing any orders (which causes troops to charge, and spell casters to cast spells), you will receive far more favorable results if you customize them somewhat.

A Jarl rush is a fairly common tactic used by EA Niefelheim. Niefelheim has very expensive, very strong, high HP sacred giants (Jarls), which lend themselves well to Bless strategies. (Sacred units receive benefits when blessed, based on their pretender's starting magic paths and levels.) If you create a pretender with huge amounts of nature and earth magic, the bless you bestow on your Jarls makes them very hard to damage, causes them to regenerate most wounds immediately, and ensures they never really tire in combat, allowing just a few (5+, generally) to wipe out entire armies. This goes very well with the Jarls' natural cold aura, which tires and weakens enemy units...

It's a very cost-effective strategy that completely destroys independents, works well against most AI races (beware Abyssia), an is effectively impossible for a new player to counter the first time or two he or she encounters it. That's why I say it's poor form to use it in a learning game. By all means, though, give it a go in a single player match or two to get a sense of just how powerful it can be.

**"Jarls" are actually the sacred commanders often used to lead the sacred Neifel giants, aptly named "Niefel Giants."**