Complaint about Test of the Clans and Dwarven Doors [spoil]

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

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dtw
Posts: 478
Joined: September 27th, 2004, 1:32 pm

Complaint about Test of the Clans and Dwarven Doors [spoil]

Post by dtw »

Test of the Clans

If you kill the the south-east leader before you kill 25 units, two knights appear on the eastern edge of the map, just south of the keep. If one of your leaders is to the south-east of the keep and you have finished your turn when the Knights appear you can lose the scenario in one fall swoop - this is hugley unfair.

If knights are to appear they should appear so they are unlikely to engage in combat in their first turn AND should not be able to reach or attack a village in their first turn. If other uints arrived instead this would also alter the situation but they certainly should be unable to reach villages were injured units are likely to be.

Dwarven Doors

Can Konrad even make it to the first door and then round to the second door in the turns alotted? Can he still make it accounting for two turns trapped in combat?

If not I fail to see the point of a scenario where the"fun" is supposed to be in the "Argh, cuttlefish. Oh damn, wrong door. Here they come! Run for it! Phew, made it!" factor but which you requires you too lose (maybe several times) to discover how to do it and then take several goes to perfect the strategy. I fail to see how something that should be great fun should be allowed to be such an utterly boring slog-a-thon.

I think you could keep the pace of the level by threatening your starting position more, forcing you to realize that you can't hang around and recruit or you will get cut off. You should have to fight a small rearguard action as you advance up the map, with a bigger emphasis on holding a line as you traverse to the other door (if necessary).

There is no reason for these levels to be so tiresome.

[edit]

After further thought I think the following changes might help:

Replace the SW Orc and E Orc leaders with troll leaders and move thier keeps further S. E leader (level 2) should only be able to recruit whelps but have a lot of cash: this should send a whelp swarm after you across the map, which would also be your main impediment to fighting your way to the second gate. Trolls could also quickly threaten you starting position.

The SW leader should be a level 3 Troll and should recruit predominately lobbers. Both troll leaders should be isolated by mountains making it unrealistic to take the fight to them (as the Mage is in Mountain Pass).

The NW leader should remain an Orc and be able to recruit the full selection of nasties but should be largely blocked from the W door by a river or forest to prevent them from swamping you while you panic.

I think these changes would quite happily funnel you into the intended route of the scenario without allowing you to kill all the leaders easily and while still maintaining the need to run for it.

It would also allow for a comedy moment when Li'sar and her boys turn up right next to the Level 3 Troll and his rock lobbers...
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scott
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Post by scott »

Home of the North Elves and Dwarven Doors need to switch settings. Right now it's too easy to beat both leaders in HOTNE. HOTNE should be the RUN! scenario, and since you know exactly where to go, it's ok.

Dwarven doors should basically go back to how it was before the current form - you could beat all 3 leaders pretty handily. You can keep the turns low to ensure Konrad still runs rather than fights, but he shouldn't have to run out of the gate on turn 1. Dibble's ideas sound great, but the correct door must also be random or else only newbies get screwed... a "regressive" tax of sorts.
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dtw
Posts: 478
Joined: September 27th, 2004, 1:32 pm

Post by dtw »

I used to struggle on HOTNE but now I find it easy - I send a dwarf contingent to distract the Orcs and often kill the leader - I got pretty close to killing the other leader the other day too. The problem with HOTNE is it is far to easy to get cut off by the Humans between the river and the snow.

If the door on DD is to be random then they should be equally appealing - currently one looks like the front door and one looks like the side door - which is as it should be but it couldn't stay like that :)
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santi
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Joined: April 6th, 2004, 12:32 pm

Post by santi »

Yes, this has been discussed, but probably Shade who was rebalancing
HttT left... When you make scenaria too hard, people tend to discover
ways to cheat. Hence, in DD, if you recruit 4-5 horsemen and RUN for the
right door with Delf, kalenz and Krad, surrounded by the horsemen, you
reach the door in about 9 turns, that is your main units will
get practically maybe to be attacked by one unit. The key is NOT to retaliate, just keep running... HOTNE is also fairly easy, if interesting.
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