{{ :nations:flags:la_tien_chi.png|}} ====== LA T'ien Ch'i, Barbarian Kings ====== ===== Lore ===== The celestial empire is crumbling. Constant invasions from the barbaric Khans have all but destroyed the Imperial Bureaucracy. The Imperial family have been replaced by the Barbarian Kings. The Imperial Guard is no more and the cavalry of old has been replaced by skilled barbarian horsemen. Ancestral worship is popular once more and priest-mages of barbarian heritage who lead the Ancestor Cult are replacing the priests of the Bureaucracy. With the displacement of the eunuchs from power, conscription has fallen out of use. T'ien Ch'i is obviously influenced by China. I couldn't even resist the name Spring and Autumn, from the period of the same name in Chinese history. Chinese history is rich and there is plenty to draw upon. Daoism and its five elements, inner alchemy, and quest for longevity inspired the Masters of the Way as did the T'ien Shih—celestial master—of institutional Daoism convert into the Celestial Master of T'ien Ch'i. Heroes come in plenty in the Chinese tales and the Seven Immortals are all interesting figures. Sun Wukong and his friends are perhaps even more so. There is plenty of stuff to expand on should I or a merry modder find the time. Finally, T'ien Ch'i has been inspired movies from Hong Kong, China, and Korea. - Ilwinter ===== National Overview ===== \\ Things kind of went back to the Early Ages when the Huns (or Mongols) overthrew the Bureaucracy, destroying the highly organized infrastructure that supported elite soldiers with advanced equipment, alongside specialized administrators and mages. It has been replaced by the rule of nomads on horseback, and the forgotten ancestor worship has returned with a vengeance. \\ This nation has access to a wide selection of magic paths, but (ignoring 10% randoms) can't recruit mages with any path higher than level 2. This means the nation will have to rely on [[communions]] or [[magic]] booster items to cast higher level spells. \\ Communions are a little tricky to do, since only the capital only ??Celestial Master#1712?? has guaranteed {{:misc:magic:astral.png?20&nolink}} [[astral]] magic. All other mages have only a 1/4 chance of {{path>S1}}. This does mean that T'ien Ch'i can potentially put any of its six available magic paths into a communion, but finding enough communion slaves fit for the task can be difficult. Extra fatigue is generated for communion slaves who don't have the paths for the spells their masters cast. \\ Since the nation does have the {{:misc:magic:earth.png?20&nolink}}{{:misc:magic:astral.png?20&nolink}} earth/astral crosspath, it is possible to craft the ??Crystal Matrix?? and ??Slave Matrix?? for communions, and extra boosters such as the ??Crystal Coin?? and the ??Crystal Shield??. \\ \\ When it comes to troops, this nation has access to mostly the same infantry as [[t-ien-ch-i-ea|early age]] and [[t-ien-ch-i-ma|middle Age T'ien Ch'i]]. These are still functional, if not quite as impressive as in the previous ages, simply because most nations and independent forces have better troops in the late age. However, T'ien Ch'i in the late age has access to ??Barbarian Heavy Horsemen??, a cheap heavy cavalry unit that can also be recruited outside of forts. This means that it is feasible to build fewer forts as this nation and still produce decent armies. Late Age T'ien Ch'i also has an off-fort Mage. \\ \\ Another interesting feature of this nation is the access to the ??Call Ancestor?? and ??Wrath of the Ancestors?? spells. These are combat spells that summon ??Ancestral Spirit??s. These spirits have poor stats, with 0 [[protection]] and 1 hp. On the other hand, they are also [[ethereal]], [[sacred]], and in possession of an [[armor negating]] [[paralysis]] attack. Making these spirits fearsome with your [[bless]] is an option; even without a bless, though, ??Wrath of the Ancestors?? can be useful as a ??Swarm?? alternative. ===== National Features ===== ^ Special Race Attributes ^ Military ^ Magic Access ^ Priests ^ Buildings ^ | Humans \\ Foreign troop recruitment \\ Neutral Temperature | Heavy cavalry and Horse Archers \\ Decent human infantry | {{path>W2}} (Rare 3)\\ {{path>A2}} (Rare 3)\\ {{path>S2}} (Rare 3)\\ {{path>E2}}\\ {{path>D2}}\\ {{path>N2}}\\ **Heroes**\\ *{{path>F1A1W2S3H2}}\\ *{{path>A2S2D2}} | {{path>H1}} \\ Communions | {{:misc:gui:Citadel.png?30&nolink}} Standard Forts(Citadel) | ==== Capital Special Sites ==== ^ ??The Celestial City?? {{:sites:sites_0069.png?40&nolink }} ^ ??The Heavenly Gate?? {{:sites:sites_0039.png?40&nolink }} ^ | Enables recruitment of: \\ \\ {{:nations:la:tien_chi:ancestor_vessel.png?40&nolink}}??Ancestor Vessel?? \\ \\ \\ Generates {{gems>1E1D}} per turn. | Enables recruitment of: \\ \\ {{:nations:la:tien_chi:celestial_master.png?20&nolink}}??Celestial Master#1712?? \\ \\ \\ Generates {{gems>1A1S}} per turn. | ===== Units ===== The nation has two classes of units. First, you have the traditional T'ien Ch'i units present since the Early Age (??General??, ??Ceremonial Master??, the various ??Footman?? and ??Heavy Footman?? variants, ??Master of the Way??, and ??Celestial Master??). Second, you have the Mongol-themed barbarians (notably the ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman??, a foreign recruit heavy cavalry unit that costs only 20 {{gold}}, and the sacred ??Ancestor Vessel??) with their ancestor mages. The ancestor mages are notable for being an interesting collection of recruit-anywhere 4-path mages with at least {{path>D1}}, high morale, excellent base stats, and magic gear. These properties mean they are some of the more resilient recruitable mages against [[assassin]] and [[seduction]]. ==== Commanders ==== ^ Sprite ^ Unit Name ^ SpecialAttributes ^ Comments ^ | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:mounted_scout.png?nolink}} | **??Mounted Scout??**\\ {{gold}} 30\\ {{resources}} 13 \\ {{recpoints}} 1 | {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]] (50)\\ [[mounted]] | More expensive than independent scouts, with a slightly higher map move, offset by not having the usual [[Terrain Survival|Forest Survival and Mountain Survival ]] that independent scouts have. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:general.png?nolink}} | **??General#792??**\\ {{gold}} 80\\ {{resources}} 41 \\ {{recpoints}} 1 | [[mounted]] | The **??General#792??** and the **??Khan#930??** are your main generals. Both can do formations, and they have the same map move, so they can fill the same roles. The Khan is more expensive but can lead more troops and gives his troops +2 morale instead of +1. The Khan requires 2 recruitment points to recruit, but this is offset by him being recruitable outside forts, so no fort turns need to be spent. \\ \\ Note that all your other commanders can only lead 10 troops, so these are your only national options for leading your armies. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:khan.png?nolink}} | **??Khan#930??**\\ {{gold}} 135\\ {{resources}} 41 \\ {{recpoints}} 2 \\ + Foreign Rec | {{:abilities:pillager.png?15&nolink}}[[Pillager]](5) \\ [[mounted]] | ::: | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:ceremonial_master.png?nolink}} | **??Ceremonial Master#1895??**\\ {{gold}} 45\\ {{resources}} 3 \\ {{recpoints}} 1 | {{path>H1}} \\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] | A cheap {{path>H1}}. The nation doesn't have higher holy access, so these are useful to bless ??Ancestor Vessel??s in armies you field not with your Prophet or Pretender. Can be a great use of the last commander point in a Citadel if you can't afford to start a second mage. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:master_of_the_way.png?nolink}} | **??Master of the Way#808??**\\ {{gold}} 135\\ {{resources}} 1 \\ {{recpoints}} 2 | {{path>W1H1,100%AWSN}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}} 9\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:need_not_eat.png?20&nolink}} [[Need-Not-Eat]] | The **??Master of the Way#808??** is the nation's cheapest mage but also its weakest, with only two Arcane paths. They can still be useful combat mages, especially if you go into Alteration (for ??Frozen Heart?? & point buffs like ??Mossbody??, and ??Quickness??). But your more expensive mages are far more impressive. \\ \\ They're not very efficient researchers, costing {{gold}}15 per {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}}, but they're still slightly-more-gold-efficient than the Ancestors and slightly-more-fort-turn-efficient than the Celestial Masters. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:ancestor_smith.png?nolink }} | **??Ancestor Smith#1709??**\\ {{gold}} 220\\ {{resources}} 16 \\ {{recpoints}} 2 | {{path>E2D1H1,100%ASND}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}} 13\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:forge_bonus.png?20&nolink}} [[Forge Bonus]](1)\\ {{:abilities:old_age.png?20&nolink}} [[Old Age]](67/50) | The **??Ancestor Smith#1709??** is a useful combat mage with access to the same paths as the other two ancestor mages below, but distributed differently. \\ \\ He is notable for being the best {{:misc:magic:earth.png?15&nolink}} Earth Mage in the nation, meaning he can cast the usual earth buffs: ??Summon Earthpower??, ??Legions of Steel??, and ??Strength of Giants??. They also get a 1-gem discount when forging magic items; Paired with ??Dwarven Hammer??s which they can forge with ??Earth Boots??, you can reduce the cost of items made by the ??Ancestor Smith?? by 3 gems! \\ \\ The {{:misc:magic:nature.png?15&nolink}} Nature randoms can also serve as budget thugs with ??Ironskin??, ??Temper Flesh??, ??Personal Regeneration??, and (if you have a fluffer) ??Body Ethereal?? or ??Mossbody??. The Ancestors have good stats (for Humans), even with the old age penalties, and come pre-equipped with decent magic gear (but no helmet); this one comes with an Ancestor Sword, which has a [[Fear]] effect and decent attack/defense bonuses. \\ Unlike other ancestor mages, the ??Ancestor Smith?? does not come with [[Spirit Sight]]. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:spirit_master.png?nolink }} | **??Spirit Master#1710??**\\ {{gold}} 220\\ {{resources}} 11 \\ {{recpoints}} 2 | {{path>D1N2H1,100%AESD}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}} 13\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?20&nolink}} [[spirit sight]]\\ {{:abilities:supply_bonus.png?20&nolink}} [[supply Bonus]](20)\\ {{:abilities:old_age.png?20&nolink}} [[Old Age]](127/100) | The **??Spirit Master#1710??** is a useful combat mage with access to the same paths as the ??Ancestor Smith??, but distributed differently. \\ \\ Notable for being the best {{:misc:magic:nature.png?15&nolink}} nature mage in the nation. The {{path>N2E1D1}} randoms are particularly valuable in combat, because they can cast ??Strength of Gaia?? for an extra nature path boost. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:ancestor_guide.png?nolink}} | **??Ancestor Guide#1711??**\\ {{gold}} 220\\ {{resources}} 11 \\ {{recpoints}} 2 | {{path>A1D2H1,100%AESN}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}} 13\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?20&nolink}} [[spirit sight]]\\ {{:abilities:old_age.png?20&nolink}} [[Old Age]](67/50) | The **??Ancestor Guide??** is a useful combat mage with access to the same paths as the ??Ancestor Smith?? and the ??Spirit Master?? but distributed differently. \\ \\ He is notable for having a chance at {{path>A2}} and always being the best possible {{:misc:magic:death.png?15&nolink}} death mage in the nation, enabling him to cast things like ??Horde of Skeletons?? and ??Shadow Blast??. Every one of them can cast ??Wailing Winds?? with a ??Skull Staff??! \\ Unlike his peers, he does //not// start with a magic weapon, but his Quarterstaff provides him with decent defense. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:celestial_master.png?nolink }} | **??Celestial Master#1712??**\\ {{gold}} 220\\ {{resources}} 5 \\ {{recpoints}} 4\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only | {{path>A1W2S1H1,100%AESN,10%AWSN}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?nolink}} 15\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?20&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:need_not_eat.png?20&nolink}} [[Need-Not-Eat]] | The **??Celestial Master#1712??** is the nation's only capital-only commander. With {{path>A1W2S1H1,100%AESN,10%AWSN}}, he has access to all of the nation's paths except death. He is slow to recruit, but notable for typically being the nation's best {{:misc:magic:water.png?15&nolink}} water or {{:misc:magic:astral.png?15&nolink}} astral mage. He is important for summoning your ??Celestial Soldier??s. | ==== Units ==== ^ Sprite ^ Unit Name ^ Special Attributes ^ Comments ^ | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Footman.png?30&nolink}} | **??Footman#794?? with pike**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 9\\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | A lightly armored soldier with a length 5 pike. \\ This soldier's only advantage over the Footmen with glaives is the length of his weapon, enabling him to [[combat mechanics#repel|repel]] even spearmen. \\ Since his attack is low, this is rarely worth it. Part of your national [[province defense]]. | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Footman_2.png?30&nolink}} | **??Footman#795?? with glaive**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 11 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | Glaive Footmen come in three variants. \\ The glaive is a high damage two-handed weapon, making these troops fairly dangerous, especially against heavily armored units and thugs. With ??Strength of Giants??, glaive Footmen will 27 damage per hit; you can buff this further with ??Army of Giants?? if needed. \\ The Heavy Footman has decent protection at the cost of only 8 map movement, higher encumbrance, 1 less defense, and moderate resource cost; while the light and medium Footmen have 12 map move, which is enough to often move through 2 friendly plains provinces. | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Medium_Footman.png?30&nolink}} | **??Medium Footman#1901?? with glaive**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 14 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | ::: | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:heavy_Footman.png?30&nolink}} | **??Heavy Footman#928?? with glaive**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 20 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | ::: | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Footman_3.png?30&nolink}} | **??Footman#796?? with Shield**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 11 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | Tower shield and spear Footmen also come in three variants parallel to those of the glaive footmen. These are blockers; the tower shield makes them excellent at enduring crossbow fire and gives decent defense, but they do dramatically less damage than the glaive infantry. | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Medium_Footman_2.png?30&nolink}} | **??Medium Footman#1904?? with Shield**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 14 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | ::: | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:heavy_Footman_2.png?30&nolink}} | **??Heavy Footman#929?? with Shield**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 20 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | ::: | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:archer.png?30&nolink}} | **??Archer#797??**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{resources}} 12 \\ {{recpoints}} 9 | | The **??Archer#797??** is armed with a composite bow, useful versus lightly armored targets. You can cast ??Wind Guide?? with national mages, but not ??Flaming Arrows??; so the Late Age's ubiquitous independent crossbowmen are usually better against heavily armored troops. Part of your national [[province defense]] and starting army. Can help neutralize enemy crossbowmen with the Fire Archers order. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:barbarian_horseman.png?30&nolink}} | **??Barbarian Horseman??**\\ {{gold}} 20\\ {{resources}} 12 \\ {{recpoints}} 24\\ + Foreign Rec | {{:abilities:pillager.png?15&nolink}}[[Pillager]](2)\\ [[mounted]] | The **??Barbarian Horseman??** is a lightly armed and armored mounted archer with a composite bow. Interestingly, he does have a buckler, helping slightly versus enemy archer fire. In most aspects, he is outshined by the ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman??. Still, since both are recruitable outside of forts, there might be cases where the lower resource cost is important enough that you prefer to recruit these. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:barbarian_Heavy_horseman.png?30&nolink}} | **??Barbarian Heavy Horseman??**\\ {{gold}} 20\\ {{resources}} 27 \\ {{recpoints}} 24\\ + Foreign Rec | {{:abilities:pillager.png?15&nolink}}[[Pillager]](2) \\ [[mounted]] | The **??Barbarian Heavy Horseman??** is perhaps the defining unit in the Late Age T'ien Ch'i army. At first glance, he might seem similar to the Barbarian Horseman, but this unit is an upgrade in many ways. Heavier armour, a heavy lance rather than the light lance, a shield rather than the buckler, and a hoof attack. Altogether, this unit is an extremely cheap heavy cavalry unit with a bow as a bonus. Like the Barbarian Horseman, the Heavy Horseman can be recruited outside of forts, meaning it is possible to mass these more easily than their resource and recruitment costs indicate. | | {{:nations:la:tien_chi:ancestor_vessel.png?30&nolink}} | **??Ancestor Vessel??**\\ {{gold}} 50\\ {{resources}} 32 \\ {{recpoints}} 46\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only | {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}}[[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:pillager.png?15&nolink}}[[Pillager]](2)\\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?20&nolink}} [[spirit sight]] \\ [[Mounted]] | The **??Ancestor Vessel??** is the nation's capital's only sacred unit. In addition to being sacred, this unit is an upgraded version of the ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman??, with better stats, better armor, {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?20&nolink}} [[spirit sight]] and the Howling bow, a composite bow doing magic damage and with an extra fear effect on damage. | ==== Heroes ==== The national heroes of T'ien ch'i are {{:abilities:immortal.png?15&nolink}}[[immortal]] mages, unchanged across the ages. ^ Sprite ^ Unit Name ^ Special Attributes ^ Comments ^ | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:immortal.png?30&nolink}} | **??Ho Hsien-Ku - Immortal??**\\ | {{path>A1N2}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 11\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}}[[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:immortal.png?15&nolink}}[[immortal]]\\ {{:abilities:supply_bonus.png?15&nolink}}[[Supply Bonus]](20)\\ {{:abilities:healer.png?15&nolink}}[[Healer]](1)\\ {{:abilities:ethereal.png?15&nolink}}[[Ethereal]]\\ {{:abilities:flying.png?15&nolink}}[[flying]]\\ [[Female]] | A flying immortal with paths available on your air random ??Spirit Master??. Can be used as a highly mobile ??Swarm?? raider, but her main value is the [[Healer]] ability, which is especially useful on a nation with many old mages. [[Ethereal]] means she's less likely to die to archers than other unarmored human mages. | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:immortal_2.png?30&nolink}} | **??Lu Tung-Pin - Immortal??**\\ | {{path>F1A1W2S3H2}}{{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 19\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}}[[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:immortal.png?15&nolink}}[[immortal]]\\ {{:abilities:ambidextrous.png?15&nolink}}[[ambidextrous]](3) | A very useful hero, providing Astral 3, as well as your only national fire access. \\ The fire/water cross path can be used for ??Manifest Vitriol??, and with a fire booster, ??Rune Smasher??s and acid magic. \\ Your only national mage who can lead big armies, and could be used as an assassin-resistant commander. | | {{:nations:ea:tien_chi:master_with_the_Iron_crutch.png?30&nolink}} | **??Li T'ieh-Kuai - Master With The Iron Crutch??**\\ | {{path>A2S2D2}}{{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 17\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}}[[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:immortal.png?15&nolink}}[[immortal]]\\ {{:abilities:fear.png?15&nolink}}[[Fear]](7)\\ {{:abilities:old_age.png?15&nolink}}[[Old-Age]](865\500)\\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?15&nolink}}[[Spirit-Sight]]\\ {{{abilities:plague_carrier.png?15&nolink}} [[:plague carrier]](5)\\ [[Start Affliction]](100)\\ | An extremely old mage. His individual paths are available on national mages, but immortality can be very useful. One interesting application is to ??Cloud Trapeze?? onto an enemy army and cast ??Power of the Spheres?? followed by ??Wind of Death??, without risking any gear. | ===== Magic ===== ==== Magic Access ==== Late Age Tien Chi's specialty is being able to site search 6 paths at level 2 (or 9 if you can afford remote site searching) and then use those gems to put up a full suite of major battlefield spell in the game using just 25% randoms on recruitable mages, boosters, and crystal communions (immune to magic duel). * Be careful when using traditional communions in major battles in multiplayer games. Your astral mages are largely expensive 25% randoms with {{path>S1}}, and thus are highly vulnerable to ??Magic Duel??. As detailed below, those astral randoms are valuable for forging, so don't be sad they exist, but keep in mind that many Late Age nations have cheap astral mages and might consider it a good trade to magic duel you. * An {{path>N2E1}} ??Spirit Master?? with a ??Thistle Mace?? can cast ??Strength of Gaia?? and be {{path>N4}} in battle. With enough nature gems, he can cast big nature magic, like ??Mass Protection??, ??Relief??, ??Serpent's Blessing??, ??Mass Regeneration?? and ??Howl??. You'll save a lot of gems per fight if you make a ??Moonvine Bracelet?? with an {{path>N2S1}} ??Spirit Master??, but it's not required. * An {{path>N1W1}} ??Master of the Way?? with a ??Thistle Mace?? can cast ??Foul Vapors??. * An {{path>E2S1}} ??Ancestor Smith?? with a ??Starshine Skullcap?? and ??Crystal Coin?? can cast ??Golem Construction??. Give your ??Golem?? that ??Starshire Skullcap?? and ??Crystal Coin?? and a lot of astral pearls, and he can cast (with immunity from magic duel) the big astral spells like ??Antimagic??, ??Will of the Fates??, and ??Doom??. Casting ??Power of the Spheres?? will gems when casting all of these, but sometimes casting at least ??Antimagic?? on the first turn is better. * A {{path>W2}} ??Master of the Way?? with a ??Water Bracelet?? can cast ??Grip of Winter??, ??Quickening??, ??Warriors of Niefelheim??, and other major water magic buffs. A ??Robe of the Sea?? will save gems in the long run if you're casting this full script in many fights. * Your {{path>E2S1}} ??Ancestor Smith?? are hard to use in battle because of magic ??Magic Duel??, but are a key strength of the nation. Keep them safe in labs. With a ??Dwarven Hammer??, they can make ??Crystal Matrix?? and ??Slave Matrix?? for {{gems>E3S4}}. You can never have enough of these, because sometimes you want to make 4 ??Slave Matrix?? in a single turn. * Form a crystal matrix communion with 4 x ??Slave Matrix??. A range of options works, but a good option can be to use a mix of {{path>E2D1A1}} random ??Ancestor Smith?? and {{path>D2E1A1}} ??Ancestor Guide??, which lets you cast Earth/Death/Air battlefield magic (??Fog Warriors??, ??Army of Gold??, ??Weapons of Sharpness??, ??Arrow Fend??, ??Mass Flight?? or ??Storm??, ??Darkness?? and ??Rigor Mortis?? etc.) in an on path communion. * You can also make the ??Crystal Shield?? where useful. Note that because ??Power of the Spheres?? is a self buff, putting this item on a mage with a ??Crystal Matrix?? will apply it the start of the battle to all mages who have a ??Slave Matrix?? as well. * If you plan to do crystal communions, keep in mind that the above costs a lot of Earth/Astral gems (especially if you count the investment in a supply of ??Dwarven Hammer??s). * Don't forget that your lab mages can cast ??Magic Duel?? in a pinch. If your opponent has only the exact number of communion slaves he needs to cast ??Fog Warriors?? or ??Will of the Fates??, sacrificing a few Astral random ancestors to prevent your opponent from casting major buffs can change the outcome of a battle involving dozens of mages and hundreds of troops. Major ritual magic is more of a weakness for the nation, due to the lack of paths above 2: * Pretender design largely determines which globals you'll be able to economically cast. * An {{path>S2}} random ??Celestial Master?? can make your ??Starshine Skullcap??, which lets an ??Ancestor Smith?? make a ??Crystal Coin??, getting you up to {{path>S4}} outside combat. * With a ??Naiad?? you can get {{path>N5}} or {{path>W5}} with boosters. Which also gets you ??Faerie Court?? for a higher {{path>A3}}, which is great for ??Summon Great Eagle?? and other ritual magic. * The nation can naturally forge a ??Thistle Mace?? and ??Moonvine Bracelet??, which lets a ??Spirit Master?? cast ??Awaken Ivy King??. Your new ??Ivy King?? can use those boosters to forge a ??Treelord's Staff??, with which a {{path>D2N2}} ??Spirit Master?? randoms can summon a ??Lamia Queen?? to dip into blood magic for the late game. You can skip the ??Treelord's Staff?? if your Pretender can forge you a ??Ring of Sorcery??. * All ??Spirit Master??s can all cast ??Charm??, and all ??Ancestor Guide??s can cast ??Control the Dead??. You only need to charm or enslave one blood mage to start a small blood economy. * As nation with recruit anywhere {{path>E2}}, forging a few ??Blood Stone?? can be a good goal for a small blood economy, since that gets you {{path>E4}} for rituals like ??Wizard's Tower?? (or even the big {{path>E5}} rituals like ??Crumble?? and ??Iron Walls?? with a ??Staff of Elemental Mastery??). An ??Ancestor Smith?? with a ??Blood Stone?? and ??Earth Boots?? is {{path>E5}} in combat and thus can cast ??Weapons of Sharpness?? and ??Petrify?? without spending gems. * Any ??Ancestor Guide?? can make a ??Skull Staff?? bringing him to {{path>D3}}. He can summon a ??Mound Field??, who with the ??Skull Staff?? is {{path>D4}}. If you want {{path>D5}} for ??Lichcraft??, options include a {{path>D4}} pretender, a {{path>S4}} pretender who can make a ??Ring of Sorcery?? with boosters you can natively forge, or empowering. ==== National Spells ==== ***??Call Ancestor??**: Conjuration 1, {{path>D1}}. ( {{:nations:la:tien_chi:Ancestral_spirit.png?2nolink}} ??Ancestral Spirit??x1). All of your ancestor mages can cast this; creates a weak [[sacred]] ghost with poor stats and a paralyzing attack. Note that summoned sacreds are not automatically blessed unless your pretender is present in friendly Dominion. ***??Wrath of the Ancestors??**: Conjuration 7, {{path>D1}} {{gems>1D}}. ( {{:nations:la:tien_chi:Ancestral_spirit.png?nolink}} ??Ancestral Spirit??x20+[2/lv]). Improved Call Ancestor, summons 20+ ??Ancestral Spirit?? for a death gem. Can be used like ??Swarm?? for distraction chaff. Summonable sacreds, even with weak stats, can be quite dangerous with various blesses (weapon blesses, death explosion, Charged Body, Fire Shield, Heat Aura, etc.). As with ??Call Ancestor??, your summoned sacreds are not automatically blessed. ***??Celestial Servant??**: Conjuration 1, {{path>E1S1}} {{gems>1E}}. ({{:nations:la:tien_chi:Celestial_Servant.png?nolink}} ??Celestial Servant#903?? x 1) is primarily a thematic spell. It is hard to find a strong military reason to have a ??Celestial Master?? or ??Ancestor Smith?? turn to summon a single unit with a lot of hp and strength, no armor, and a one-handed rake. ***??Herd of Buffaloes??:** {{path>N2}} Conjuration 3 for 10{{:misc:magic:naturegem.png?nolink}} ({{:nations:ma:ind:buffalo.png?30&nolink}} ??Buffalo??x5 + 1/2 [lv]). [Berserker|Berserking]] high hp animals with [[trample]]. ***??Celestial Hounds??**: Conjuration 4, {{path>A1S1}} {{gems>4A}}. ({{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Celestial_hound.png?25&nolink}} ??Celestial Hound??x2). Flying [[sacred]] magic dogs with a high patrol bonus. Useful for patrolling, interrupting thug buff scripts, and to hit the rear of an enemy formation. ***??Call Celestial Soldiers??**: Conjuration 6, {{path>A2S1}} {{gems>15A}}. ({{:nations:ea:tien_chi:Celestial_soldier.png?nolink}} ??Celestial Soldier??x5) Your {{path>A2S1}} ??Celestial Master??s can cast this to summon several elite [[sacred]] giants with excellent stats and the nation's signature hard-hitting glaive. Great as late-game linemen, especially if you took a strong bless. ***??Internal Alchemy??**: Alteration 5, {{path>W2S1}} {{gems>10W}}. Primarily a thematic spell. Reduces the caster's age by -15 years but has a chance to give the caster [[Insane|insanity]]. One of the very few ways to reduce a unit's age in Dominions, but it's hard to come up with a situation where you'd want to cast this for any reason other than role-playing. It's at least //more//-useful for this era than in the other eras, since your ??Celestial Master#1712??s who have 10% randoms will typically be old -- provided that they don't have {{path>N1}}, anyway. ***??Celestial Chastisement??**: Evocation 5, {{path>S3}}. A less fatiguing version of ??Control?? that critically doesn't cost gems to cast. Inficts guaranteed armor negating damage and then attempts to [[enslave]] a [[magic being]]. Many powerful units and mages, including summoned elementals, are [[magic being]]s and thus vulnerable to this spell. Held back by short range and the nation's limited high astral access. ==== Notable Generic Magic ==== ===Combat Magic=== FIXME What is the best spell you can use in combat. What spells the best support your national lineup, Is there weakness that you need to fix? Any tricks you should be aware you have? {{:magicpath:path_E.png?20&nolink}} Earth, {{:magicpath:path_D.png?10&nolink}} Death, {{:magicpath:path_N.png?20&nolink}} Nature are your main combat paths, with {{:magicpath:path_A.png?20&nolink}} Air, {{:magicpath:path_W.png?10&nolink}} Water, and {{:magicpath:path_S.png?20&nolink}} Astral as sides. Your main butter is spamming old men with reliable magic paths. Only 1 in 4 will get {{:magicpath:path_S.png?20&nolink}} astral magic, but you only need 5 mages and one booster to cast the fun late-game stuff, which also doesn't seem so bad as you should be spamming Ancestors from every fort. {{:magicpath:path_E.png?20&nolink}} Earth Grants useful protection and while destroying the enemy's armor, like ??Marble Warriors??, ??Maws of the Earth??, and ??Destruction??. if you can get rid of enemy hats, go ??Rain of Stones??. Nature can grant some other buffs, like increased size and recovery for your summoned army and mages. With communions, it is possible to perform some higher-level Air magic like ??Storm?? & ??Fog Warriors??, though T'ien Ch'i has a tougher time gathering potential Slaves than most Communion Nations (since only its capital Mages are guaranteed that {{path>S1}}). All Ancestors know some {{:magicpath:path_D.png?10&nolink}} death magic, so many can ??Shadow Blast?? and spam ghost or skeletons when they go off-script. ??Wailing Winds?? and ??Fields of the Dead?? are some late-game death. ??Soul Vortex?? with regenerating bodyguards around your communion mages will help with turbo communions. If you recruit Masters of the Way, you can use them to spam ??Frozen Heart??. ===Ritual Magic=== LA T'ien Ch'i is a nation with a normal {{:magicpath:path_D.png?10&nolink}} Death endgame despite {{:magicpath:path_B.png?20&nolink}} Blood being the Defining power of the late age. As most mages are Death, finding every death gem with ??Dark Knowledge?? is important in this Gem scarce game mode. \\ Summoning ??Troll??s or ??Lamia?? are can be used as additional communion batteries for your Ancestors with ??Soul Vortex??. \\ It cost a lot of earth gems and requires holding a cave or Wasteland, [[hidden-in-terrain]] spells give you mages. \\ Your troops are behind in the trends of the age so transitioning to summoned troops is a good idea. ??Spirit Master??s can Construct ??Manikin??s and ??Mandragora??s. \\ ??Corpse Construct??s are subjectively good chaff depending on who you talk to and how buffed they are given how many you can make with ??Storm Spool?? and ??Lightning Rod?? using only a single {{gems>A}}. \\ ??Mound Fiend??s a good spamming undead with the limited magic sites. ??Ziz?? are also fun as siege units. \\ ??Call Celestial Soldiers?? Give Quality troops especially with all the earth and nature buffs you can give. ====Magic Items==== The ??Ancestor Smith?? mages are great forgers; with a ??Dwarven Hammer??, they can forge cheap items for just 5 gems (it's the late age, so saving gems is particularly valuable). National mages have good thug paths and stats on an old, human chassis. They can make excellent counter thugs and can be used as light thugs with an [[Unaging]] bless, and could be strong after using ??Transformation?? or ??Twiceborn?? to get a stronger chassis. ===National Items=== ***??Sword of the Five Elements??**: Const2, {{path>F1W1}}, {{gems>2F2W}}. Grants the user Reinvigoration and a lot of Attack and Defence skill. Notable for being a weapon slot item that grants [[Reinvigoration]]. Unlike earlier eras of the nation, you don't have the paths required to forge this, but it's cheap to forge if you do find indies who can. ***??Armor of the Five Elements??**: Const2, {{path>E1A1}}, {{gems>2E2A}}. Light but high prot armour that grants additional minor resistance to Fire, Shock, Cold, and Magic. Useful on thugs. =====Strategy===== ====Horse archer warfare==== T'ien Ch'i's ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman?? is perhaps the best scales expansion unit of the Late Age. * With good scales, high resource provinces like forests can often recruit multiple ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman?? per turn; set enough provinces on repeat recruit, and you can quickly mass an army of these elite units. Gathering your cavalry efficiently requires recruiting extra commanders. * If you're planning for your capital to maximize ??Ancestor Vessel?? production, consider making 3 ??Ceremonial Master?? on your first turn and another on the second, while you don't have yet the resources to use all your holy points on sacred troops. You'll use them to bless parties of sacreds during expansion, and in the meantime, the extra commanders will be invaluable for gathering your foreign recruits. (A bit later, site searchers can gather cavalry while passing through). * Because the ??Khan?? is very expensive and the ??General?? requires capital resources and a commander point, it can be valuable to recruit a couple independent ??Mounted Commander?? leaders for logistics later in expansion. * With Order 2 Production 2, it's possible to be recruiting 20-25 heavy cavalry a turn by turn 7. During expansion, you'll often want to place your heavy cavalry in a line on hold and attack, so they fire a couple arrows and then charge into melee. (This generally performs better than trading arrow fire with independent crossbowmen). If you have any ??Ceremonial Master?? commanders in the squad, make sure they are far behind other units while still being close enough to bless your ??Ancestor Vessel??s. The tactical AI for the T'ien Ch'i cavalry (and all other mixed archer/melee units) can be quite problematic if your goal is to use them as heavy cavalry, not archers. The problem is that cavalry on attack orders will often switch to firing their bow after killing or routing the squad they initially targeted. In large battles, this can often lead to unexpected defeats, where a weaker enemy force that would be easily beaten by massed cavalry is able to surround and kill your cavalry units individually while 90% of your force fires mostly ineffective arrows. There is a workaround for this tactical problem: If you include a unit without a bow in a squad containing horse archers, the entire squad will generally continue fighting in melee. You can use the infantry in your starting army for this purpose, and it is a good reason to recruit a few independent ??Heavy Cavalry?? to mix into your squads. The fact that your ??Ancestor Vessel??s have a bow can be quite tactically useful as the game progresses for protecting your sacreds in long battles. Usually, the only way to keep elite troops from charging into battle is to give them a Guard Commander order. If you put squads of ??Ancestor Vessel?? and ??Barbarian Heavy Horseman?? on Hold and Fire, they will stay put, giving you as much time as you like to cast buffs while contributing somewhat to the fight with their bows. When they run out of ammunition, they'll all charge in together and hit enemies that may already be disorganized or fatigued from fighting any other troops your brought (infantry, province defense, mercenaries). Firing bows in Dominions does generate any fatigue for the archer, so your ancestors will be hitting the enemy fresh. The downside is that your elite melee troops will not be fighting in melee for the first 10 turns of the battle; this tactic can be counterproductive without the right mage support. One way to use this hold-and-fire strategy is as a way to buy your mages time to paint point buffs like ??Mossbody?? and ??Luck?? with all 5 scripting slots (and possibly more with off script casting). (Unfortunately, ??Quickness?? will make archers fire two arrows per turn, resulting in the quickened units running out of ammunition early and thus charging alone). Later on, this tactic can be particularly nice in combination with a fatigue play (using some combination of ??Curse of Stones??, ??Grip of Winter??, ??Rigor Mortis??, ??Relief??, ??Quagmire??, and delaying spells like ??Swarm??) as a way to ensure most of your attrition falls on your more easily replaced units. Fatigue plays combine particularly well with this tactic, because enemy troops have to walk across the entire battlefield in order to close with your ancestors. ====Example Pretender Builds==== //List some example pretender builds. Try to use the following format to keep authorship and pretender design rationale clear.// =====See More===== Youtuber Saquenay [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmX1Jo7oxRW6fEW6exjprB6n-Qk1g8mdT|discussing and playing the nation]] (2020) \\ Youtuber GeneralConfusion [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSwfCy8y5Pc| discussing and playing the nation]](2019) \\ [[tiredtaleteller-exercise-in-masochism-aar|Exercise in Masochism]] by TiredTaleTeller. {{template>nationindex}} {{tag>nation la-nation}}