In the Shadows
The Cloud Lord 2950
INTRODUCTION
Well the Cloud Lord , my favorite position and im sure many of yours as well.
Needless to say the Cloud Lord, When properly played, can strike fear into
all the Free, be a big influence on the Neutrals as well. I find it hard to look at
GSI's Hall of Heroes and see a cloud lord nation with under 10 kills in even a
short game.
Characters
I guess i'll start with character recruitment.
This agent nation also serves well as a minor emissary force. In my opinion
commanders are at a minimum and mages almost non existent.
First thing i do is rid myself of Gulthuin to open a spot for another agent or emmy.
Not a bad idea to rid yourself of either Zaken or Lairathin unless one of them end
up with either an agent command or stealth bonus. Of course Ji should be moved
to the capital asap to name a single 40 agent and then assigned his duty in a hot
theater such as Angmar, the Fire King pass or a little Dragon Help. I personally
favor the Angmar theater as the Witchy poo will be hard pressed and Ji can make
a huge difference and the Fire King pass is usually a little cooler in 2950 then 1650
unless of course your team wants to knock out the bridge quickly.
Did i mention Ji needs a guard to travel with him ,preferably a double scout guard.
AS far as naming your first character goes, as i stated earlier get Ji there asap
and try not naming an emmy until the third named character or so, as i have seen
and heard of more times then i care to comment on, an emissary being named
in the first three character slots getting a stealth bonus. Even when named the
same turn as one or two agents. Random i know but suspicious if you ask me,
don't even ask me how many stealthy emissary's i have running around. I'll just
say that i have not missed a Cloud Lord Game without one.
Once you get a few Agents out of the way, say three go for an emmy or two and
think deeply about another command/agent (10co/20ag) This may not be a bad idea
for one of the first three characters ,while you have the gold and a chance at a good
bonus early on what will become one of your most valuable characters later on in
the game. All in all of the first characters named i usually go with 3 agents, 2 emmys
and a command/agent. This is all possible by turn 5 as long as you retire 2 of the
useless characters right off the bat.
As mages go for the Cloud Lord.... they don't. And the only reason to keep shoglic
around is he has one of the coolest pics around or to do capital nat sells.
Erennis an Ji both start with mage skill but they should be all but forgotten with the
possible exception of a movement spell or if you get lucky and Ji comes up with a
divine characters with forces spell.
Commanders.
Well as the Cloud Lord commanders are at a minimum and should be kept as such.
With the exception of the initial command/agent and the 7th or 8th character slot
should be a straight commander. If you are lucky you will only have one army...
at your capital. You are not a military nation and should not be expected to field
anything other then a tolken force after your initial army at 3222 is Disbanded.
Yes disbanded, 300 MA serve no purpose and the 300MA at your capital is enough
to keep the free from influencing it away. In a single player game you may have to
support an army but until a direct threat is apparent should be kept at a minimum.
Say enough to use as a blocking force 400-800 troops if a threat from the South
appears. Alternately, and probably a better option, is to place your army at 3630
when you get a new commander and keep a 100 man force at 3428 to stop those
emmys.
Also a good idea not to have all your commanders in the same hex as 2 rogue
assassins can strip you of all command ability, save Ji, and open your capital to emmys
from everywhere before Ji can get back to the capital to hire an army. I guess this can
be a double edge sword as well since only one commander at your capital gets
himself wacked and the emmys take over next turn before you can move another
commander in. So at the first sign of enemy agent or emmy action move the second
commander in and attempt to join the capital army.
Emissary's.
As a general rule 3 or 4 (preferred) will do. Training them should be done at the capital
as according to the above statement you will want your capital loyalty as high as
possible, once it is at 85+ you may also wish to train them at 3630 as preparation for
your back up capital. or a faltering pop center (see taxes below)
Did i mention im not a fan of 30 point emmys going out to place camps. From my own
experience if feel lucky if i place 1 in 5 with under a 35 point emmy and in my newest
game i felt a little cocky and gave a 30 pointer two try's and NO camp. Should listen
to myself. That is not to say it cant happen but when it does you got a 15 loy camp you
now have to nurse to keep from falling off the map or to improve. And gee while your
emmy sits there nursing the camp he is escencially training so why not train a few turns
first and not waste the time in the first place. My opinion anyhow.
As the back up capital goes get it by turn 8 if possible. To me 3630 is the best choice
as you will probably have a military presence there and the mountain range thing.
Economic
Well starting off with a Major Town , Town and two Villages puts you in a place to
become financially independent and somewhat of a bank, crank your taxes to 59%,
any higher and your camps start to take a nose dive in loyalty you don't need,
as soon as you get the chance and preferably before you place your first camp.
With regards to 3222 you may wish to trade it off with someone who can make better
use of it after a few improvements, like the Witch King ( The Witch King needs pop centers?)
or someone like the Dog Lord or The Dark Lieutenants.
Relations
Relations are one of the most important parts of being the Cloud Lord. And im not just referring
to relations to neutrals and free but with your fellow DS. Your fellow Naz control many
things beneficial to your nation such as the Quiet Avenger and Dragon Lord who can
provide a double scout, the Blind Sorcerer and Dark Lieutenants who can locate artifacts and
potential targets for you. But when it comes to getting agent or stealth artys from your ethereal
kin... don't expect it. Who would expect anyone but Din O to get the Long Rider artys or Tormog
to not get the Cloak, but the Dog Lord has been known to give away the Cloak of the Heavens
and this can give you an instant killer other then Ji Indur. Now as neutrals go obviously you NEED
to be in touch with the Khand and the Corsairs asap as if they turn Free you get to be the first, if
they decide the Quiet Avenger poses less of a threat, and with a lack of any real military presence
they can be a real threat early on, but they need to attack you quick to be effective or they get thrown
into the grinder by your agents, armies traveling through all those hills and rough are easy pickings.
Now as Downgrades go i normally wait till i have a target to kill before i commit to any certain nation
to downgrade with unless you have a pre conceived strategy, which you should have. Of course
in the first few rounds you should try to get a few downgrades in such as Either Gondor, Rohan
Sinda or Northmen. But if im chasing an artifact in the First few rounds and find out that Beorn is
in the hex as well then of course i downgrade with the Woodmen first... you get the point.
Training agents
By all means leave your fellow Naz alone. There are plenty of free pop centers out there that dont
need all that gold or all those supplies to store up. I agree its a lot safer when you steal from your allies
but they need the gold more then any of the free, well that i will admit to anyhow.
In any case you start naming 40 point agents and send em on their way after an initial grdloc and
remember if you are on your way to a pop center that will take you more then one turns movement you
need to stop at an exsisting pop center, friend or foe, in order to get off a skill order unless you have a
travel buddy to guard. Basic i know but sometimes overlooked. And remember 40 is a good rank to start
stealing gold or artifacts. Also keep an eye out for the big guy (Gandalf) as he will usually park in a hex
for 2-3 turns and he has such a nice little 50 point mage arty he is not putting to good use. Don't try to
stick him just remove the trinket.
Assassinating
Ok now you have a few turns in training and you feel you need a more lively victim...cause its more
fun too. A few things to keep in mind when you are on the prowl....
1) Armies guard Commanders to some extent as well as any character with the army so don't go around
thinking your 60 point agent, even with the +20, can take out Ecthelion, unless you have a stealth
bonus that is.
2) Your victims rank has a big effect on whether you can take him out or not. Don't have a 60 point agent
try to take out a 100 point anything unless you feel real lucky. I once had a 100(125) agent try for a 100
point emissary and he got slapped silly as well as his bud , a 95 agent, got the same from another 100
emmy in the same hex.
3) Yes stealth is a big factor in assassinating as well as all other agent actions. If i get lucky and name a
40 point agent and get a stealth bonus i almost consider him an instant killer, even to low level army
commanders .
4) Guards are a big pain in the $#@*, if you go into a situation where you get a scout done and you
come across "burglar" Big Wind from Northern Gondor and your intended victim was supposed to
be "regent" Ima Deddood From NG as well be sure you rank, with everything like stealth and artys included beats out the possible guard level of 120 from Big Wind before you take a shot at the
regent. If not take out Big Wind and go from there as he is probably gonna guard the regent as his
skill order Now if you have 2 agents in the hex have the second Kidnap the Regent as that order
comes after the Guard Character order and if the Guard is gone you at least get a clean shot at the
originally intended victim.
Companies, Agent and Emissary
Ok this is where your Command/agent comes in the handiest. He gets to take charge of the company
and provide agent support for the characters in the company, especially if its an emissary company
as then he gets to provide a scochar as well. Also now the characters in the company can refuse challenge
do a skill order and still have full movement. Form your emissary company when the camp limit has
been reached and go get some more pop centers or begin traveling to your own to influence or improve
them.
One of the most feared things in Middle Earth, other then being a dwarf with a dragon encounter, is having a cloud lord agent company make its presence known in your pop center, especially your capital.
There are so many choices of things to do when you have 5 agents working together in your enemys
house. The most fun is to Clean it out of their characters, agents and emmys first then commanders
and then mages. By golly if you have even partial success they wont move in more "victims" till you
leave and this may even put them out in a turn or so.
The Next best thing to do is rob em blind and bankrupt them. You don't have to be in the Capital to
clean out the capitals treasury another large pop center will do as the capital will continue to supply
that pop center with gold to keep it going. I once asked GSI why someone was able to steal 38,000+
gold at my town and that was their reasoning. Guess one pop center is more important then the entire
nation eh?
Now you have successfully cleared the capital of all its characters so its time to move the emmy
company in and take the pop center, if the Tax rate went up and the loyalty went down because you cleaned out the treasury the capital should be an easy take.
Rogue agents
These guys are fun. This is where your fellow DS come in handy as they will be able to supply you
with victims. The Quiet avenger has a problem with a Corsair army running around smashing camps
and no the army under "captain" Landlubber is at 3136. So you send Lairathin on his way to scout the army and take him out. Or you send your rogue to encounter hot spots for some new toys, when you get there you scochar and do the deed. There are many uses for the rouge agent such as sabotaging fortifications, bridges and docking facilities. Stealing gold and hit and run assassinations or guarding
important fellow DS and lets not forget taking out those nasty Free Navies that are moving along the river.
Overview
In general the Cloud Lord is a blast to run and don't be afraid to put your characters on the front
lines but don't be to cocky either or you will get bit in the A**. Communicate and cooperate and you
will dominate, or at least have fun. Well these are my opinions and you may not agree with all of them
most are basic some are common sense but in any case opinions are welcome.
Later
Stormy