Let's Play - Duelmaster: Challenge of the Magi

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Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Oh, just noticed an inconsistency with Creeping Doom.

In the beginning of the book, where the descriptions are, it says it costs 2 CP to cast. In the Forest of Arden or Sacred Grove, it doesn't say how much it costs to cast, so I assumed it'd be 2 CP.

In the Garden of Contemplation it says it costs 1 CP to cast, the same as the counterable not-instakill spells for the other colours.

Personally, I'm leaning towards that being a typo in the beginning of the book, that all counterable spells other than instakills should be 1CP, but I could also accept the argument that it's an error in the Garden of Contemplation, or that it's just easier to cast there for some reason and is 2CP elsewhere. In most places it seems to repeat the CP cost for each spells which would avoid this. If it was a 1CP spell, than each colour has a 3CP uncounterable, a 2CP instkill, and a 1CP counterable, with the sole exception of blue's uncounterable being 2CP, which is also stated to be 2CP when using it.

(Also, in the even numbered books, Spirit of Flame has a cost of 3CP in the beginning of the book, which I'm assuming is just a typo)
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

And the duel is over, the victor being:
Explosive Wand
Who will take control of the council until challenged by a younger mage, or they retire. In either case there is still plenty of the Rainbow Lands to explore, spells to cast and magic things to find.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Well fought, Ikeren. I wasn't sure I'd come out on top after you melted my sword.
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

Yeah, I think I was down after that very first fight. As it turns out, the penalty for retreating is kind of insurmountable. Had fun though.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Is anyone up for another game/
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

Alright, I'm down with a totally different strategy/and hanging out in a totally different area.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

I'm down for a rematch/ New Challenger vs levelled up Explosive Wand.
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

I'm happy to pass, though, if someone else wants a round wo is watching this thread.
Mr Shine
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Post by Mr Shine »

I might be interested but I have 2 advantages that would probably make it unfair: I have been following the game and have read all three threads, and I remember having these books 20 years ago. Virtually all I actually remember though is
in which zones the instadeath items are located and the correct means to unlock the White instadeath item.
Last edited by Mr Shine on Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

That's a lot more than I learned... maybe after another run through we'll be more evenly matched in knowledge?
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

I didn't realize there were insta-death items. So all the tier-2 locked spells are instadeaths if you find the right item?

It seems like the game assumes you explore a fair bit pre-duel, but it seems like the game also forces the duel pretty quickly sometimes?
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

I think a lot of it is chance based on the zones you end up and the spells you have that work. If you don't catch a person when they flee, and/or don't get to hit them with your colours damaging spells/don't win initiative, it's possible to not do much damage over several encounters. Pursuing aggressively seems to be a strong play if you happen to get an early advantage, though, and it's something sorcerers are good at doing.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Ikeren wrote:I didn't realize there were insta-death items. So all the tier-2 locked spells are instadeaths if you find the right item?
If your opponent doesn't have the counterspell, yes.
Ikeren wrote:It seems like the game assumes you explore a fair bit pre-duel, but it seems like the game also forces the duel pretty quickly sometimes?
A lot down to luck. You could both start at the same realm and fight right away, or you could wander around for ages without seeing each other.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

What's the rules for levelling up/ a second game, again?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

The winner gains one more greater magic, one lesser magic, one CP and one LP than a normal mage, but have to use the same spells and counterspells they used last time. And they'd not keep items they found, I guess.

There aren't rules for what colour spell different types of mage can gain, though in-game it wouldn't matter for sorcerors. The book does assume that, for example, wizards will never learn black magic, even if they have gone up levels.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

I've updated my sheet and am ready to go again if you are, Ikeren.
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

Sure, I'll post in my thread later today/or tomorrow morning with a new mage.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

And the duel is over, the victor being:
Explosive Wand
Though there is still plenty of the Rainbow Lands to explore, spells to cast and magic things to find.
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

Hmmm, retreating produced a loss pretty quick, and it seems like getting summoned to a white+black realm for a duel happens pretty quickly in each game? Is that an event or something after a certain number of turns? As necromancer or wizard, I only get 2 spells to throw out in that area, and that's not enough to kill someone, so then it always is just going to come down to the luck of the rolls at the end either way, even if you've made optimal choices?
Mr Shine
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Post by Mr Shine »

What's happening in general terms:
You're being summoned due to a deliberate action taken by Explosive Wand in a specific zone
Last edited by Mr Shine on Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Yeah, I found a place to get a magic sword, and a place to teleport you to the same place as your opponent, and have used that in all three games. Forcing an early confrontation while you have an advantage (even a slight one) seems to work. I rolled really luckily in that fight, though.
I think just puts us in the same randomly-selected area of colour magic. Last time it was the gardens of contemplation (blue/green).

I figured you were going to flee inward and head to the white tower, but I guess you'd have lost 6 points from two retreats, just to be able to land a 5 damage spell again.
Last edited by SlyJohnny on Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

I'm interested in creating a new mage for a game, but like Mr Shine I've been reading both threads (part of the reasons why I dropped out of Team 1....I couldn't resist looking in the other thread). Since I know all about SlyJohnny's character, it probably wouldn't be fair to play against him (not to mention Mr Shine is ahead of me in the queue).
Ikeren
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Post by Ikeren »

Oh, interesting. For me the point was to just explore the game, so I didn't even consider you'd do the same thing every time. Also interesting that it throws you in a random area. It seems like it would take 4-5 spells to kill someone by damage, but generally you won't have that right off the bat.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

If Thaluk is down for running two more, I'd be up for a new game with a new character. Maybe I'll go up against Mr Shine, and Sgamerz and Ikeren (who have roughly equivalent player knowledge) can duel each other?
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Sure, if people want to do that.
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