cave of ancestors ideas?

[megamanx06]

first things first, it needs to say what it does. when i first started playing, i never built it because i didn't know what it did. that was in .30, and it still hasn't been changed.

also on a side note, i think since it is such a symbol of arcane might, maybe it should be an Amurite unique building for alchemy lab? This would help give them some more flavor.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

It's supposed to give XP to newly built Arcane Units.

However, i Like Magister Cultuum's change that allows Arcane units to cast a "spell" (take caves trial) that immobilizes them for a turn, and has the chance to either kill the unit or give them a Free promotion.

 

[Fafnir13]

How about we combine them. Free xp from all mana nodes and the ability to attempt to earn xp, similar to the Balseraph arena.

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

what Fafnir13 said

 

[Grey Fox]

It's good enough as it is, imo. +3 XP to every adept (minimum) is not bad. Often means instant wizards. No need for that spell that Magister has in his mod. That's just more micromanagement without adding anything really new to the game. Govannon already does half of what that would do, and the cave already give XP so you can pick your own promotions. And a similar mechanic already exists in the Arena, which is Balseraphs specific.

 

[Methuselah]

I don't think the cave needs adjusting, it can give a lot of exp already if you control enough mana nodes.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

My mechanism is quite district from those. It doesn't grant specific promotions or xp, but free promotion picks like arcane units get when first built. If you are lucky (but not too bright), you can have your adepts get all available promotions before gaining any levels. My way makes the Amurite arcane units actually be stronger, not just easier to get in large numbers. It also entails a thematically very appropriate risk. (It also works well with the Soul Forge.) I can't really think of anything in the lore to justify the current implementation, while my way fits the lore quite well. The current way seems boring, and will only help newly built adepts, not the powerful wizards and archmages the Amurites are know for.

I also added a very small chance that a channeling III castertaking the trials could, if of a higher level than all other casters, gain the Caswallawn promotion, giving it affinity for all mana and reducing the targets' resistance to his spells but making it unable to take the trials again, and killing any preexistant Caswallawn. It is quite rare though, and I have yet to see any unit actually get the promotion except through world builder.

 

[Iceciro]

The Cave of Ancestors as it stands now is like a super-barracks for the Amurites, in that it's highly useful, if not all that flavorful. Because it gives EXP and not say, free promotions, it's really just a fast-track to hordes of Wizards. While, as I said, this isn't really bad, it's not all that flavorful. I haven't played MC's mod, but that does sound like it's more along the lines of the Caves itself in the scenario, rather than a super-barracks. Another thing to note is that the silly thing can be built in every city - and that really detracts on a flavor level, from the importance of it.
The Balsaraphs get Arenas for every city which do something entirely different - they give EXP to just about everything, including slaves and workers, add happiness to the cities, and also are really handy to deal with psychopathic Freaks.

If you made the Cave of Ancestors a National Wonder so you could say, put it in the central part of an empire and sent your mages there, then set it up like so...

1) Cave Trial - Send your Arcane unit on a Trial in the Cave of Ancestors. The unit may die, or it may come out more open to the secrets of the arcane than ever before. The more mana types you control, the more likely it is your unit will survive unharmed.

Units which complete the Cave Trial are rewarded with a random (1-3) number of free promotions (not EXP, thus allowing even Archmages to take the Trial for benefits.) I'm unsure wether a unit should be allowed to take it multiple times, probably not for balance sake, unless you make it only one free promo. A Cave Trial could also have the random effect to rarely (again, more often if you control many mana types, maybe even moreso if you send in a higher EXP unit at the start, causing you to make a tactical choice of the unit's life versus the chance to get a unique promo) like Divine, Hero (maybe not, Hero is a pretty powerful promo for a random adept to luckily get), Twincast, Perfect Sight, and any number of odd Cave-only promotions, like a Spell Extension 3 or Potency II.

This would make the Caves different than an Arena, which the Balsph build in every city, and make the Amurites have more powerful and diverse mages, as opposed to just mages with a leg up on being tier two, but at the sacrifice of time and the possible loss of the mage.

 

[Zechnophobe]

I think it's fine the way it is. Why complicate an easy to understand system? Just document what it does, and there you are.

 

[megamanx06]

It's supposed to give XP to newly built Arcane Units.

I know that now, just not when I first started.

I don't think the cave needs adjusting, it can give a lot of exp already if you control enough mana nodes.

I didn't say it needed adjusting, although I like the arena-like idea. I just meant it didn't seem to fit in lore- wise to have a whole bunch of them.