Since my announcement of the new NKA game forming
seems to have touched off such an active discussion, I
couldn't help but fan the flames a bit ;).
Regarding the CL capital (4215?) and capitals in the
mountains. In the NKA game that just ended (game 49),
by turn 30 there were 4 weakness squads in operation
(3 FP and 1 DS). Realistically, with 9 FP and 9 DS
players, if each player contributes one mage to a
weakness squad then each side has almost two such
squads operational by turn 10 or 15. It's a team game
and the better coordinated team is most likely to win.
Actually, I attribute the FP win in that game
partially to the fact that they used their weakness
squads much better than we did.
In an NKA game, the lack of kidnap or assasination
options means that coordinating weakness squads
becomes even more important. The NKA aspect eliminates
rampant character deaths by making it costly to kill
characters (i.e. committing 5 trained mages plus a
company commander to achieve, at best, one kill per
turn). Yes, the FP have a slight advantage in that
they can begin with rank 60 mages but the DS players
can start with the curses spell if they choose
(correct?). High rank agents don't become pointless
just because they can't assassinate or kidnap. I, as a
neutral, had 4 agents committed to stealing gold and
that was all that kept me afloat for much of the game.
After all, armies cost money. 
Yes, NKA makes the kingdoms relatively more powerful
but remember that neutrals can't start with their
capitals in the mountains. Both FP and DS can if they
choose nonhuman races. And, given the advantages of
placing your capital in the mountains in an NKA game,
they might be foolish not to.
All in all, NKA is a somewhat different game. As such
it requires somewhat different tactics. Some will be
frustrated that their old tactics don't work well any
more or will miss the high head count. Others will
rise to the challenge and develop new tactics and
welcome the lower head count. That's why there's this
thing called choice...
Keith
P.S. 9 players currently committed to the next NKA.
Looking for 16 more who are willing to try new tactics
and revel in team play.
ยทยทยท
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