Failed Expeditions (Map Experiment Graveyard)

Brandmeister wrote: Failed Experiment #2: Fame and Fortune! Executive Summary: Send thieves to the Fortune Teller, and then to the desert to recover untold wealth. The gypsy fortune-teller tells your Thieves: "Beware what lurks beneath the desert sands, for though there is treasure there it is also well guarded." What could she mean? And did she say treasure? Nothing excites a cartopgrapher quite like the prospect of secret wealth hidden behind vague riddles. Indeed, I had long nursed a theory about the desert trade hubs. Jarru is owned by the Jannu; both Khafkar and Nessim are owned by the Sultanate of Kazim. Jarru in Kumala [-906|-277] Khafkar in Zanpur [755|-498] Nessim in Kul Tar [838|-352] Now why would the desert caravanserai attract my attention? As you will see, this trio of trade centers share a triad of unusual traits! Of all the hubs, you can only dispatch diplomats and armies to Jarru, Khafkar and Nessim. Of all the hubs, these are the only ones which are not surrounded by an indestructible barrier of tiles. In fact, the tiles under the trade hubs themselves have resources, implying that they can potentially be annexed as sovereign squares. Finally, these are the only three desert trade hubs, meaning that all desert trade hubs share the first two unusual traits, and that no other hubs have that structure. Strange, no? I spent a while sending armies, thieves, spies and scouts to the desert hubs in the hopes of uncovering some secret mystery. Alas, it was to no avail. Then I remembered that the Human Statues Mystery must be completed in order. For statues with broken inscriptions and clues, you must first visit the statue, and then the final mystery location. You can't just skip to the second part, even if you already know the answer. Obviously the mysteries in Illyriad can have triggers... but what possible trigger could there be to unlock the secrets of the desert trade hubs? I know, right? THE FORTUNE TELLER. So I posted a 1000 beer bounty for reported fortune teller sightings, and 10000 beer if I was able to reach her with my diplomats. After weeks of trying, I finally succeeded in receiving fortunes for my scouts, spies, saboteurs, assassins and thieves. Unfortunately, this did absolutely nothing to change the behavior of the desert trade hubs. My thieves, scouts and spies still return empty handed. Maybe the treasure is really out there beneath the desert sands. Perhaps it refers to the temples in the Kumala deserts where Elven Tears are harvested. Most likely it's just a bogus fortune meant to drive you nuts digging up the desert with footpads and halflings. There might be some kind of mystery with the desert trade hubs. If there is, I no longer have any idea what that might be. All I know is that my halflings have tracked sand all over the tavern, and I've got 150 sunburned Keepers of Secrets glowering over tankards of ale, whispering dangerously that their next expedition had better be an encore at the Steamtastic Brewery.

Anything in particular you are looking to find out, swarm?  If you are the same as the Swarm in-game, you have 8 cities and have been playing for more than a year, so I assume you know the basics?

150 sphinxes?  And we can claim 150 squares of sovereignty.... How interesting.  The devs must like the number 150.  

Malek wrote: Nice thread Brand. This particular discovery is of particular interest to me, especially with my orc alt.  Amassing the horde as it appears to me is to have a lot of troops. Things I have done. Attacked and occupied with 150k from one town. Occupied with 150k from one town  Have over 500k troops Occupy a square with 400k troops Either I am missing something or I dont have enough troops.... yet. Any idea's on other tactics to try to get this discovery? With the new trainingtimes amassing a horde does not take anywhere near as long as it used to.  edit:poster didnt work

Perhaps you could try putting as many armies as you can on one square?

Edited by Mayflower - 24 May 2013 at 17:32

Yeah, there are exactly 150 sphinxes in the Elgea continent. Way too many.