Introduction

Dominions 3! A game of low blows, high magic, and medium, yet constantly rising, micromanagement!

Dominions 3 is a ridiculously detailed turn-based multiplayer strategy game. It chronicles the struggle of a large number of Pretender Gods contesting for the throne of complete godhood. The last survivor wins domination over the planet, and the rest are chained in Tartarus forever, left to reconsider their failings. Battle is waged via armies, spells, powerful elemental enchantments, arcane horrors torn from beyond death itself, and so forth. The game includes literally dozens of available nations, hundreds of spells, and over a thousand unique units.

To say that this game is complicated is an understatement.

There have been several excellent LPs of this done before, such as Matryx's R'lyeh thread, Bremen's Kailasa thread, and the stunningly epic narrated Pantokrator thread, and you should read them if you want slightly faster updates. You should also read them if you want an alternate perspective on the game. All the races are different, and some are more different than others - R'lyeh being a good example of that.

Before anyone gets really invested in this LP, I should point out that only one player will win. Winner takes all, there is no second place. And that winner is probably not going to be me. This is my first multiplayer game, I'm playing a nation that's generally considered a bit weak, and even in the best of circumstances I'd be fighting against - in this case - thirteen other human beings. You know those LPs where the player saves every five minutes to make sure it doesn't end in a Game Over screen?

In all probability, this is going to end in a Game Over screen.

Also, this is going to be a . . . less interactive LP. By the time you're reading this, the game will be done. I'm making copies of every turn file, so I can probably go back and take screenshots of anything that's commented-on, but I won't be able to change anything. I'm writing the LP as I go, so you'll get to be surprised along with past-me - and, more importantly, I won't lose all my motivation to do the writeup if I get squashed like a bug. This LP will be going to the bitter end, win or lose.

(Future Me: Additionally, I've realized that I should be posting errata as I go, both to comment about when I'm completely screwing up and being a moron, and to fill out segments that ended up a little sparse. So I'll be adding those just like this.)

With luck, some of the other players will come in and talk about what they were thinking (assuming any of them remember.) If you're one of them, however, please no spoilers. Keep your commentary in the "present", so to speak - there'll be plenty of time to talk about stuff once it happens. However, if you want to talk about what you were doing on each turn before I see the ramifications of it? Go for it! Since everything is written in advance you won't run the risk of modifying my writup.

All that said, let's get to the game!

Normally Dominions 3 LPs start with a long detailed description of the race and the dominion scales and strategy and a whole pile of little minuetae that you don't care about and it's really goddamn boring and fuck that we are jumping straight into the game. I'll explain stuff as it comes up. Trust me. For now, who wants to watch an elephant flatten some dudes?

Well you're going to have to wait until Turn 3. Sorry.

The Let's Play Archive

Dominions 3

by ZorbaTHut

Introduction

Table of Contents