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dom6:tien_chi-ma

MA T'ien Ch'i, Imperial Bureaucracy

Lore

The Celestial Empire of T'ien Ch'i is ancient. Since the founding of the Empire, peace has reigned and a Bureaucracy of great efficiency has evolved. Ministers and officials chosen by skill rather than birth govern the Empire. The Emperor and his family are considered divine, but are not involved in the administration. The cavalry of T'ien Ch'i is well known and the infantry is varied and versatile. The eunuchs who run the Bureaucracy are able to conscript troops for the defense of provinces as part of the taxes due to the Emperor. A magic tradition called The Way is practiced by hermits and scholars in the kingdom. Prominent Masters of the Way come to the Heavenly Gate in the capital to be ordained as Celestial Masters. These mage-priests can summon heavenly beings from the Celestial Sphere to serve the Empire.

"T'ien Ch'i is obviously influenced by China…. 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 by movies from Hong Kong, China, and Korea" – Illwinter

General Overview

If you are considering picking this nation to play, what should you know?

National Features

Magic Access Alt. Access Unit Summary Core Abilities Buildings
water 33 (Rare 4)
fire 22 (Rare 3)
air 22 (Rare 3)
earth 22 (Rare 3)
astral 22 (Rare 3)
nature 22 (Rare 3)
glamour 22 (Rare 3)
holy 22
Heroes
fire 11air 11water 22astral 33holy 22
air 22astral 22death 22
Summons
nature 11glamour 33random150%
50%
25%
(req. nature 22)
Cavalry
Heavy Infantry
Archers
Crossbows
Conscription
Fortune Teller
Spring Power
Alchemy
Immortal Heroes
Standard Fortresses

Capitol Gems: 1airgem1watergem1earthgem2astralpearl

Order Limit + 1
Misfortune Limit + 1

National Units

Commanders

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Scout
Gold 35
4
1
Stealthy (50)
Mountain Survival
Forest Survival
This is your default scout. It is faster, cheaper, and quicker to recruit than the Imperial Consort.
Imperial Consort
Gold 95
1
2
Stealthy (70)
Spy
The Imperial Consort takes two commander points, which makes it a rather sub-par scout hire. You do, however, start with one for free. Consider recruiting Imperial Consorts only if you need them for their spying abilities, like instilling unrest or stealing score graphs.
Eunuch
Gold 45
5
1
Defence Organizer
Patrol Bonus (15)
Tax Collector
Do not sleep on this castrated fellow. Eunuchs are a great choice if you have an extra commander point. You should be using them to build forts in the early game as they passively increase the defense of provinces. Eunuchs can also ferry troops, and in a pinch, lead them into battle. It's handy to have a few around your border forts.
General
Gold 110
52
1
Skilled Rider (2)
Mobile Archer
Your default battle general. A great prophet chassis with a lot of map move. They even have a bow for taking pot shots.
Armored Steppe Horse Animal It's a horse of course.
Ceremonial Master
Gold 65
3
1
holy 11
Sacred
Fortune Teller (10)
Your Temple builder. Good to recruit a few of these and have them follow armies. They're also fortune tellers.
Minister of Rituals
Gold 100
5
2
holy 22
Sacred
Fortune Teller (10)
Bringer of Fortune (2)
Suffers the same problem as the Imperial Consort. Two recruitment points means a whole Fort turn to recruit, not generally worth it unless it's your only option.
Apothecary
Gold 90
2
2
nature 11rp 77
Poison Resistance (5)
Disease Healer (1)
Supply Bonus (10)
Worth hiring one or two for disease healing purposes and animal summoning. Your Geomancers will get diseases a lot from being old. Useful to have one of these following your mage corps.
Imperial Geomancer
Gold 90
4
2
earth 11astral 11rp 99
Fortune Teller (10)
Old Age
Your bread and butter. You should be spamming these out everywhere for communions. They are cheap, recruitable in foreign forts, and fortune tellers. Rush Evocation 5 and spam Gifts from Heaven. Follow-up with Thaumaturgy 6 for a flexible Enslave Mind/Soul Slay battery. You should have a couple of communion masters in the frontlines casting Earth buffs like Stoneskin and Temper Armor to preserve your chaff. Geomancers are central to MA T'ien Ch'i's strategy.
Minister of Magic
Gold 90
4
2
random1100%
10%
rp 1111
There is really no reason to hire these guys. Just recruit a Geomancer instead.
Alchemist of the Five Elements
Gold 120
2
2
nature 11random1100%
10%
rp 99
Poison Resistance (10)
Disease Healer (1)
Supply Bonus (10)
Alchemy (25)
A better, albeit more expensive version of the Apothecary.
Master of the Way
Gold 190
1
2
Recruit Anywhere
water 11holy 11random1100%rp 99
Sacred
Need Not Eat
This is your research monkey, and a fantastic mage in a pinch. Adds Water to your communions with the random Astral. Gives you cheap access to Glamor. They're all priests too so they can be mobilized to fight an undead enemy in a pinch.
Prince General
Gold 335
55
2
Capital Only
Sacred
Spring Power (50)
Skilled Rider (2)
Commentary here.
Cataphracted War Horse Sacred
Animal
Commentary here.
Imperial Alchemist#1892
Gold 315
4
4
Capital Only
fire 11air 11water 11earth 11nature 22random1100%
10%
rp 1919
Poison Resistance (10)
Disease Healer (2)
Supply Bonus (20)
Alchemy (50)
Commentary here.
Celestial Master
Gold 415
5
4
Capital Only
air 11water 22earth 11astral 11glamour 11holy 22random1100%
10%
rp 1919
Sacred
Need Not Eat
Commentary here.

Troops

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Footman
Gold 10
9
9
Commentary here.
Footman
Gold 10
11
9
Commentary here.
Footman
Gold 10
11
9
Commentary here.
Archer
Gold 10
12
9
Commentary here.
Ministry Guardsman
Gold 12
14
14
Patrol Bonus (1) Commentary here.
Imperial Footman
Gold 13
20
16
Commentary here.
Imperial Archer
Gold 13
21
16
Commentary here.
Imperial Crossbowman
Gold 13
21
16
Commentary here.
Imperial City Guard
Gold 14
20
18
Patrol Bonus (2) Commentary here.
Imperial Guard
Gold 15
23
21
Bodyguard (4) Commentary here.
Horseman
Gold 25
17
24
Skilled Rider (1)
Mobile-archer
Commentary here.
Heavy Horseman
Gold 25
27
24
Skilled Rider (1)
Mobile-archer
Commentary here.
Imperial Horseman
Gold 30
40
36
Skilled Rider (1) Commentary here.
Armored Steppe Horse Animal Commentary here.
Red Guard
Gold 50
55
46
Capital Only
Sacred
Spring Power (50)
Skilled Rider (2)
Commentary here.
Cataphracted War Horse Sacred
Animal
Commentary here.

Heroes

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Ho Hsien-Ku - Immortal
air 11nature 22rp 1111
Sacred
Immortal
Supply Bonus (20)
Healer (1)
Ethereal
Flying
Female
Commentary here.
Lu Tung-Pin - Immortal
fire 11air 11water 22astral 33holy 22rp 1919
Sacred
Immortal
Ambidextrous (3)
Flying
Commentary here.
Li T'ieh-Kuai - Master With The Iron Crutch
air 22astral 22death 22rp 1717
Sacred
Immortal
Fear (7)
Old-Age (865\500)
Spirit Sight
Plague Carrier (5)
Start Affliction (100)
Commentary here.

National Spells and Item

Summons

Ritual
Summon Spell Unit Special Attributes Comments
Celestial Servant
(Conjuration 1)
earth 11astral 11 and 1earthgem

Celestial Servant
Sacred
Gluttony (3)
Magic Being
Need Not Eat
Spirit Sight
Commentary here.
Ambush of Tigers
(Conjuration 3)
nature 22 and 9naturegem

Tiger x 15+
Darkvision (50%)
Undisciplined
Animal
Forest Survival
Commentary here.
Herd of Buffaloes
(Conjuration 3)
nature 22 and 8naturegem

Buffalo x 5 + [1/2 per lvl]
Berserker (+2)
Animal
Trample
Commentary here.
Celestial Hounds
(Conjuration 4)
air 11astral 11 and 2airgem

Celestial Hound x 2
Sacred
Resist Shock (15)
Patrol Bonus (+10)
Animal
Magic Being
Flying
Need Not Eat
Spirit Sight
Commentary here.
Contact Huli Jing
(Conjuration 6)
nature 22 and 30naturegem

Huli Jing
nature 11glamour 33random150%
50%
25%
rp 1515
Stealthy (+80)
Magic Power (1)
Supply Bonus (+10)
Animal
Spy
Forest Survival
Female
Shapechanger (Huli Jing)
Commentary here.

Huli Jing
- Spy
+ Mountain Survival
Shapechanger (Huli Jing)
Commentary here.
Call Celestial Soldiers
(Conjuration 6)
air 22astral 11 and 15airgem

Celestial Soldier x 6
Sacred
Magic Being
Need Not Eat
Spirit Sight
Commentary here.
Living Mercury
(Enchantment 5)
water 11earth 11 and 6watergem

Living Mercury
Poison Resistance (25)
Poison Cloud (5)
Blind Fighter (1)
Affliction Resistance (99)
Slash Resistance
Blunt Resistance
Pierce Resistance
Magic Being
Inanimate
Amphibious
Need Not Eat
Mindless
Spirit Sight
Spiritform
Shapechange Below HP (105) (Living Mercury)
Commentary here.

Other Spells and Items

Combat

  • Celestial Chastisement: (Evocation 5) astral 33
    A gem-less version of Control, inficts some damage and then takes control of the target. Only works against Magic Beings. A lot of good units are Magic Beings.

Ritual

  • Internal Alchemy: (Alteration 5) water 22astral 11 and 10watergem
    Reduces the caster's age by 15 years but has a chance to give the caster insanity. Your troop lineup is unlikely to get old unless hit with Decay, but it is occasionally useful if you luck into a strong indie with the given paths.
  • Thousand Year Ginseng: (Construction 4) nature 11 and 4naturegem
    Commentary here.

Items

  • Sword of the Five Elements: (Construction 3) fire 11water 11 and 2firegem2watergem
    Grants the user Reinvigoration and a lot of Attack and Defense. Useful on a Mage to protect himself and reduce Fatigue; because of the low price, you could mass-produce them to give to all of your Communion mages. Other weapons have better DPS effects.
  • Armor of the Five Elements: (Construction 3) earth 11air 11 and 2earthgem2airgem
    Light but high-PROT armor that grants +4 HP plus minor resistance to Fire, Shock, Cold, and Magic. It's useful on thugs since the resistances it provides offer some survivability against a broad array of thug-killers (Incinerate, Lightning Bolt, Frozen Heart, Mind Burn, etc.).
Discount Items
  • Chi Shoes: (Construction 3) air 11 and 4airgem
    Provides the wearer with an additional attack per round. This is useful on high-strength units who can already get around quickly; unfortunately, your Flying Mages aren't that strong, while your Strong commanders aren't that mobile (or can't wear shoes).
  • Jade Armor: (Construction 7) water 22earth 11 and 10watergem5earthgem
    Commentary here.

Magic Access

See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.

Fire

fire 22 Imperial Alchemist (1 in 4) needs a level of empowerment to potentially make the unique The Ruby Eye and another level to make a Flame Helmet.

Air

Both Celestial Master and Imperial Alchemist can have air 22, but an air 22 Celestial Master (1 in 5), with a Astral booster may make the unique Tome of High Power. Even with it, empowerment is needed climb higher.

Water

water 33 Celestial Master (1 in 5) has an easy climb. With one easy to make Water booster can attempt the unique Orb of Atlantis. With Fire boosters, can make a Staff of Elemental Mastery.

Earth

Both Celestial Master and Imperial Alchemist can have earth 22. The earth 22 Imperial Alchemist (1 in 4) can attempt the unique The Tome of Gaia. With lots of boosters to get to air 44earth 44, (and maybe an Air random instead of an Earth random because Air boosters are tough to get to), either can make a Staff of Elemental Mastery. Celestial Master has the right crosspaths for the unique Atlas of Creation.

Astral

astral 22 Celestial Master (1 in 5) is the highest available. Celestial Masters have the right crosspaths for a Coin of Meteoritic Iron, the unique Tome of High Power, (both reasonably easy to get), the unique The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur, and the unique Atlas of Creation, (much harder).

The hero, Lu Tung-Pin - Immortal, has astral 33. It has the crosspaths to make the unique Tome of High Power, but, considering that the easiest Air booster to get is the Tome of High Power, it isn't very helpful.

Death

No recruitable access. The hero, Li T'ieh-Kuai - Master With The Iron Crutch, has death 22.

nature 11glamour 44 (a nature 11 Celestial Master (1 in 5) with three Glamour boosters), can Summon Fay Prince in Cold for death 11 or cast Faerie Court in Cold for a 1 in 2 chance of death 22.

nature 33 can cast Forest Troll Tribe for at least death 11.

Nature

nature 22 Imperial Alchemist (1 in 4) is the highest available and with an Earth booster, (or just use an earth 22 Imperial Alchemist (1 in 4)), can make the unique The Tome of Gaia. A (path>N1}} Celestial Master (1 in 5) with two Nature boosters can make a Moonvine Bracelet.

Glamour

glamour 22 Celestial Master (1 in 5), with Earth Boots and a Gossamer Veil, can make a Mirage Crystal. A fire 11 Celestial Master, with three Glamour boosters and a Fire booster, may make the unique The Sword of Many Colors. (The third Glamour booster is the difficult one to get.) The Celestial Masters also have the right crosspaths for the unique The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur, but getting all the needed boosters is rough.

nature 22 can Contact Hull Jing for glamour 33.

Blood

No national access. nature 55 can Awaken Treelord for a 1 in 3 chance of a stationary blood 11.

See More

dom6/tien_chi-ma.txt · Last modified: 2024/07/11 12:42 by thatshawnguy