Light Elf and some Bats

I just played a very interesting game of Magic Realm, using the latest version (0.42) of RealmSpeak (see release info below). I started off with the Amazon and Light Elf. Yes, the Light Elf: you know, the one in the optional rules that has only L fight and move chits? Well, anyway, for some odd reason, I ended up splitting these two up right off the bat, trying to explore as much of the map as possible, and I realized pretty quickly that I was in over my head.

The Amazon found the Lair, but was killed by a pair of heavy bats before she had a chance to loot more than some sharpening grease!

The Elf, on the other hand, was quite a bit more lucky. After wandering through the tunnel under the High Pass, and through the Caverns, the Elf found himself in the Ruins tile with the Lost City (how appropriate!) There lay the Vault, the Hoard, and the Shrine, and quite a lot of dragons.

The Elf nearly got caught, but was able to hide quickly enough to allow him to sneak past a pair of Heavy Flying Dragons. With a trio of heavy bats camping out on the other side of a hidden path, the Elf hoped to catch a ride, and get the heck out of the tile before the Winged Demon appeared. He found the path easily enough, but when he arrived at the clearing with the bats, he was quickly joined by a cluster of dragons: Two heavy flying dragons, one tremendous flying dragon, one heavy land dragon, and one tremendous land dragon. Oh, and don't forget the three heavy bats.

Fortunately, the Elf had hidden successfully, and so had one round to cast the Control Bats spell before having to worry about himself. Using the three controlled bats to lure the faster dragons, the Elf made a quick retreat back down the hidden path. The three bats, now under the Elf's control, went to work.

Now I can tell you, that I figured the bats would be toast after a few rounds, but I was amazed at what happened next. One by one, each of the dragons fell, until all that was left was a single Heavy Bat. If anyone asks you what the meanest monster in the game of Magic Realm is, I hope you ALWAYS say "bats bats bats BATS!!!!" Damn those things are brutal!

The Elf returned to the clearing in time to see the Winged Demon and a pair of Heavy Serpents appear a couple of clearings away, and decided it was high time he left. Controling the remaining Bat, the elf quickly flew away to the tile where the Amazon's corpse still lay fresh.

The Elf quickly discovered the Lair, and looted it clean. Other than having to dispatch the Tremendous Land Dragon that appeared fairly quickly (love that alerted light bow!), and an unlucky Giant looking for food, the realm left the Elf alone. I did get a curse from the Remains of Thief, but having found the amulet a turn or two earlier made quick work of the curse (DISGUST). It's a good thing too, because of the VPs I had put into Fame!

I ended the game alive with a score of 5, having put VPs in GT(1), Fame(2), Not(1), and Gold(1). Probably not the smartest game I've ever played, but it was still a blast.

Version 0.42 Released

Well, its been a long time coming, but I finally got myself back into the game, and worked out some new features, and squashed some bugs. My favorite new feature (requested by a RealmSpeak user) is the interactive Treasure Setup Card.


Each and every monster box, dwelling, and treasure that can contain other treasures or spells is represented. By clicking on a box, you get a quick snapshot of what it contains.

Don't worry, it wont give away the specific treasures/spells, but it will let you know how many treasures are there, and even what types of spells are available. This holds true for visitors too! The point is, click on everything, and you quickly learn where it is you want to go.

Oh, and when the game ends, you can go back to the setup card to see where everything was. Dying to know if that last treasure you just wasted 12 turns searching for in the Lair was worth it? Now you can check it out!

Another nice new feature requested by a RealmSpeak user, is the keyboard shortcuts provided for every character action. Check out the new Action menu for a complete list of keyboard commands.

Okay, so its been over two months already since the last release, and you are just aching to play the game without a "Wish" bug, or having the game tell you a road has vanished. What are you waiting for? Here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• [461] - Action menu supports using keyboard shortcuts to enter your characters turn.
  
• [21] - At long last, the wish table result "I Wish You Were Elsewhere" is finished. There is a caveat: the casting player gets to choose where the target character goes (the rules say it is up to the character being teleported), but that can be worked out manually for now (ie., please send me to the crags, clearing 6, thank you).
  
• [649] - Treasure Setup Card changes:
  
  • Allows "peeking" at the stacks to see:
    
    • Monsters
      
    • Weapons/Armor (ie., helmet, breastplate, shield, ponies, etc.)
      
    • Number of Treasures
      
    • Number and types of Spells
      
    • Treasures-Within-Treasures
      
    • Spells on treasures
    
    
  • When game ends, the peeks allow you to view the cards "face up", so you can see what you didn't get!

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Fixed a general issue that caused RealmSpeak to repeatedly forget join information (when logging in)
  
• [704] - Native Leader carrying a horse no longer crashes the game.
  
• [726] - Can't abandon or CACHE a BOON token
  
• [726] - Can abandon inactive potions.
  
• [716] - Problem with HIRE/BOON allowing gold to go negative is fixed.
  
• [727] - Can't offer a BOON counter in the trade payment dialog.
  
• [724] - Fixed a problem that prevented an INSTANT spell from being cast more than once.
  
• [500] - Fixed the behavior for a spellcaster that is "buffing up" in an empty clearing.
  
• [708] - Wish for Vision no longer shows you the backs of cards.
  
• [721] - VI, VII, and VIII chits can be alerted in the battle builder.
  
• [707] - Fixed a bug that would sometimes report a path had vanished when trying to run, when it fact it was still there!
  
• [728] - RealmSpeak will now inform you when one or more of your followers are encumbered, and give you a chance to resolve the problem BEFORE moving, and leaving them behind.
  
• [730] - Trade/Share mods
  
  • Only works now if you are the active player. Though this goes against the rules, somewhat, I'm hoping it will lessen the likelihood of a game crash in the short term. In the long term, I'm hoping I can figure out a better way to handle the trade frame.
    
  • Available in the combat frame for "End of Combat" trading.
  
  
• [717] - "Wish I Was Elsewhere" will not crash the game anymore.
  
• [652] - Text on turn action rows wraps around, so you can see all of it without going to the log. Also, the latest processed action is always scrolled into view.
  
• [737] - Text on enchanted chits is easier to read.

Back to RealmSpeak

Sorry folks for the long break, but I needed it. I'm starting to tackle RealmSpeak issues again, so hopefully there will be a new release in the next week or so. I'll let you know!