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| Thread: My Necropolis- Full Write-up | |
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thehiddeneye
Adventuring Hero
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posted May 06, 2008 11:14 AM |
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My Necropolis- Full Write-up
Inspired by Xerox HOMM 6 suggestion, I've decided to start doing full write-ups for my suggested Factions (see my thread). I'll not do all of them- just the ones I (and you) like best.
The Factions are:
* Castle- Humans (a feudal Knightly culture), Griffins and Angels, deeply religious imperialists
* Rampart- Wood Elves, Seelie (benevolent) Fey, Sylvan humans and assorted Forest creatures, fighting for survival
* Tower- Humans (a Wizard culture), Gremlins, Katta (cat people) and various constructed/magical creatures, devoted to magic and learning
* Keep- Dwarves, Halflings, tundra beasts and wondrous constructs, protectors of the Clan
* Stronghold- Orcs, beastmen and beastes from the Wastes, driven by Bloodrage and vengeance
* Fortress- Lizardmen, humans (wild jungle tribes who live off piracy) and beasts of the Swamps, spiritually-inspired guerilla fighters
* Citadel- Humans (a mercantile culture) and creatures of Air, capitalist and open-minded liberals
* Conflux- Humans (a Hidden, monastic culture) and Elementals, preserving the Balance
* Inferno- Humans (cults of Chaos), Demons, Ifrit and Fallen Angels, insane servants of Chaos
* Dungeon- Humans (the Banished ones), Troglodytes, Minotaurs and the monstrous creations of the Faceless, sub-dwelling power-hungry tyrants
* Necropolis- Humans (the cult of the Spider Mother), Flesh Golems and Undead of all sorts, following the Will of Asha
* Coven- Dark Elves, Unseelie (malevolent) Fey and various creatures of the Dark Forest, cunning deceivers driven by bitterness and lust for power
* The first full write-up is the Necropolis (also the first faction I've posted). It's slightly altered from Heroes 5, but still set in Ashan. So, for your enjoyment:
Necropolis
“Life is change, chaos, filth and pain. Death is peace, order, everlasting beauty.”
Aka: the Undead, the Grey Academies
Alignment: Evil
Deity: Asha, Dragon of Order, in her destructive aspect as the Spider Mother
Core Philosophy: "We do as Asha wills". Although they dabble in the foulest form of magic, few Necromancers (or Death Knights) actually believe themselves to be evil. Instead, they believe that by ending all life and recreating Ashan as a cursed world of the undead they can usher an everlasting age of peace, prosperity and perfect order- the After World. Pleasure is sin and pain- by giving up mortal pleasures and becoming the unfeeling Undead, one can remain eternally pure and devoted to the Will of Asha. Fanatically committed to the cause, Necromancers embrace death rather than fear it for they know their reward shall come in Eternity.
Racial Identity: The various forms of Undead, divided into mental state (mindless and intelligent) and physical state (corporeal and incorporeal). There is also a small human minority, called the Pale Folk.
Themes: Death, decay, disease, fanatical devotion, lack of emotion or color, occultism, spiders
Where: Ruins, wastelands and graveyards
Country/Kingdom: Heresh, Land of the Dead
Capital City: Hereshkigal- the Gates of Netherworld, located somewhere in the Buried Kingdoms
Leadership: the Grey Council and the Grey Oracle
Associated Colors: Black, white, grey and toxic green (green flag)
Key Symbol: The Spider Mother: a grey spider surrounded by a circle of bleached skulls and bones on green mist background
Native Terrain: Gravedirt and Cemetery (+1 SP for Grey Elder magic, blocks Radiant Glory and Wild Groves magic above 2nd level)
Society and Kingdom: Built on an older kingdom devastated in bygone ages by some unknown cataclysm, Heresh is a literal mass grave. The ground is rough and barren, some say due to a curse or as a by-product of the foul magic performed by initiates of the Grey Academies. Below ground, miles upon miles of crypts form the "Buried Kingdoms". Their most nefarious denizens are Mummies and Wights.
Most of its "denizens" are wandering, shambling hordes of mindless, eternally-hungry Undead such as Skeletons, Zombies and Ghouls. Surprisingly, Heresh has a human minority, divided into two castes. One is a fearful mass of ignorant peasantry, who eke out a meager living in the barren Gravedirt lands and are little more than fodder for Undead transformation, feeding and Necrotic experiments.
The second and smaller group belongs in the Cult of the Spider Mother- choosing to improve their lot by associating with the Undead. The rulers of Heresh are the Undead nobility- Vampires, Liches, Mummies and even worse monstrosities.
Most of which are ascended Cult members, but others are so ancient they don't even recall they were ever mortals. Generally, it can be said humans have to become Undead first before they can advance to the highest echelons of Necropolis society. Yet, some (like the late Markal and Arantir) are allowed to maintain their mortality for awhile so they could better infiltrate societies outside Heresh and spread Asha's Will in ways no smelly, rotting corpse ever could…
Heresh has no cities as we know them- there are a mass of small towns and villages (some call them "body farms") and several Grey Academies (each surrounded by satellite towns for "farming"). All Academies are located in ancient graveyards full of spiritual power (usually containing entrances to the Buried Kingdoms) and follow the visions of particular Grey Elders about the exact Will of Asha. Built as twisted reflection of a Wizard Academy, it is there where aspiring Necromancers can rise in dark power until they would shed their mortality and join the ruling Undead, and where the Undead would perfect their powers and dark craft. Each Academy is free to make its own laws, although all are encouraged by the Grey Council (see below) not to become too aggressive with raids on the lands of the living until Heresh gathers its full might. The wastelands outside the Academies are home to countless tiny fiefdoms of ruthless Undead nobles, who lord over ashen ruins, terrified living and mindless Undead. A truce exists between the Academies and the Undead lords, with each side getting its share of mortal victims and in return helping one another during war.
The Cult of Asha is built like a gigantic Web, with each cell being called a Thread. The Threads spread all over Heresh and beyond (especially within the Unicorn Empire and the Silver Cities), and usually have no connection to a particular Grey Academy. Instead, they serve as eyes-and-ears and report directly to the enigmatic Grey Council, which contains representatives from all major Grey Academies and Threads and the most powerful independent Undead lords. The Council gathers very rarely, usually only during war times or when great cosmic events are about to occur. The various Academy and Thread representatives are balanced by the masked Grey Oracle, whose word is the deciding factor within the Council. Some say it's a single immortal being, perhaps even Sar-Shazzar himself, while others claim countless powerful Necromancers have held the position over the years. The Grey Oracle is said to be in direct connection with Asha herself, the Dragon of Order whispering to it in its fevered dead dreams.
Warfare: There is no single, central army in Heresh- each Grey Academy or Undead lord has its own standing forces for protection, which unite in time of war into a massive force of Death. Most commonly, Necropolis armies go on raids to neighbor lands simply to "make recruits", as the Grey Academies cannot completely rely on the starving population of Heresh. United in their vision of an Undead world, in-fighting is nearly unheard-of amongst the Academies.
Led by Death Knight generals (or more rarely a Necromancer), Undead armies are composed of hordes of mindless Undead infantry. Untiring and fearless, they thrive on the aftermath of battle and grow larger with each enemy they defeat.
In combat, the shambling hordes would simply overwhelm their opponents through sheer numbers, in the better case simply crushing them and in the worse case buying time for more powerful Undead troops, Death Knights and Necromancers to use their nefarious abilities to destroy the enemy.
Political Relations:
Allies: The Necropolis lack constant allies they can rely upon. On occasion, they form alliances of interest with the Dungeon and Coven , but they rarely last long. Especially bloodthirsty and misguided human Knights and Orc warlords are not above allying with the Necromancers for their campaigns of conquest, providing them with dead bodies in exchange for military support. An even more unlikely alliance which happens sometimes is with the chaotic Demons with the Necromancers animating the charred remains left in the Inferno's fiery wake, but such alliances usually remain a very short period of time as Order and Chaos will more likely turn on each other. Generally, it can be said Necromancers are fickle, secretive and unreliable allies, motivated not by greed or power lust but by the strange and seemingly insane Will of Asha.
* Dungeon, Coven
Neutral: The Necromancers maintain neutral relations with the Fortress, as the Swamp Folk respect the Dead and give them wide breadth. Yet, it is only luck they don't share a common border. Also, some secret Death cults exist in the Free Cities and rumor whipsers ruthless, aging Merchant Princes secretly seek out Necromancers to extend their lifespan. Due to this, Threads are not actively hunted down in the Cities.
* Fortress, Citadel
Enemies: The Necromancers of Heresh are enemies with all of Ashan, or at least the nations which perceive themselves as good. Their worst enemies are the Wizards of the Silver League, who view them as heretics who follow a twisted and misguided form of the Prophecy, but they are also actively hated and persecuted by Dwarves, Elves and the fanatical humans of the Unicorn Empire. The Orcs also view the Undead as abominations and attack them on sight, as are the Hidden People of the Conflux who see them as major threat to the Balance. Finally, as agents of Order (alebit a very twisted version of it), the Necromancers loath the Demons and foil their plans at every turn- they want to create a static world of Undead, not utterly destroy Ashan.
* Castle, Rampart, Tower, Keep, Stronghold, Conflux, Inferno
Opinions? What is the next faction you want to me to do?
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted May 06, 2008 11:25 AM |
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Is this not the same information you have in the other thread? If that's the case, I don't really see any need for making individual threads for each factions also.
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What will happen now?
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thehiddeneye
Adventuring Hero
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posted May 06, 2008 11:52 AM |
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Nope
This thread will contain ONLY factions, in their final, revised fully-detailed version. So I do see a place for it...
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B-E-T-A
Promising
Legendary Hero
Guess Who is Back?
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posted May 06, 2008 07:07 PM |
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You forgot the units and buildings -.-
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted May 06, 2008 10:20 PM |
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Quote:
This thread will contain ONLY factions, in their final, revised fully-detailed version. So I do see a place for it...
Well, as a Moderator of this place, it does go against my sense of order to have things posted in multiple locations at once. If you want to have the factions assembled in one place, you could use the edit function to gather them in, say, the master post of your other thread.
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What will happen now?
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Berny-Mac
Promising
Legendary Hero
Lord Vader
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posted June 25, 2008 05:16 AM |
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i don't think that necropolis should be evil
in fact i think instead of good, neutral, and evil, there should be:
Pure: only extremely good guys that are for a good cause no matter the cost
-sylvan
-keep
-castle
Fanatical: guys that either pretend to be pure or those so twisted by the goals of trying to be pure that they become corrupt.
-citadel
-Necropolis
Isolated: dudes that keep to themselves and try not to mess with the world unless called upon upon or change their ways.
-Conflux
-Stronghold
-Fortress
-Necropolis (it's in both)
-Dungeon
Chaotic: those that spread terror across the lands only in their interest.
-Inferno
-Dungeon (it's in both)
-Coven
Necropolis Unit's names
Tier 1: Skeleton Warrior-->Skeleton Soldier/Skeleton Guardian
Tier 2: Skeleton Archer-->Skeleton Sharpshooter/Skeleton Soulhunter
Tier 3: Zombie-->Ghoul/Mummy
Tier 4: Wight-->Wraith/Reaper
Tier 5:Vampire-->Vampire Lord/Vampire Prince
Tier 6:Lich-->Lich-lord/Archlich
Tier 7:Black Knight-->Death Knight/Shadow Knight
Tier 8(yeah, that's right):Bone Dragon-->Ghost Dragon/Vampiric Dragon
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Skyrim RP? YES!
Here it is!
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zazu1
Adventuring Hero
Makes Sense
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posted June 25, 2008 11:57 PM |
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Very very nice. Your explanations of your castles look perfect, Berny-Mac's allignment of the castles is perfect as well. I would definitely like to see the creature line ups and your ideas for the rest of the castles.
And I like the 8 tier idea, I used that in my own homm 6 vision however I think it would kinda stupid to have 2 tiers of skeletons. Also, I believe that I'm not just speaking for myself when I say the bone dragon has to go. Id like to see a flyer be more like a nazgul. Maybe even move the death knights into the 8th tier, since they are, in fact, the coolest creature in homm 3.
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Berny-Mac
Promising
Legendary Hero
Lord Vader
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posted June 26, 2008 01:57 AM |
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yeah, but the bone dragons are unique to the homm series and it would be a shame to see it go. It should be made stronger and faster with better specials while the ghost dragon has incorporeality, aging(from homm3), and soulhunter, and increased stats overall. the vampiric dragon should be about as strong as the bone dragon with a few minor upgrades but with vampirism, no retaliation, unlimited retaliation it makes it a feared fighting force on the field of battle.Vampiric dragons are your nazgul type dragons(except bigger)
the 2nd tier (skelly archers) should be there because necropolis needs another ranged attacker other than just liches (which are no longer big guys). In homm5 they attempted this but it became a mess, with skelly archers being the weakest ranged attacker in the game. with them being tier two, it gives necropolis a bigger advantage with them
for zombies and all, the mummy upgrade is more like a heavy tanker but has pretty much the same stats. the ghoul turns zombie into more of a fast damage dealer. all three has plague(turns one fourth of any living stack killed by zombies/mummies/ghouls into zombies, but if there are no spaces for them they will join the stack that killed them when they were living)
wight/wraith/reaper is basically the same thing from homm5 except in a lvl 3 form. but the reaper has wide spread damage
vampire/vamp lord/ vamp prince and lich/lichlord/archlich is the same as homm5 but in their own tiers
the black, death, and shadow knights are the kickass guys of the necropolis. they are like those guys from homm3 but the shadow knight is ranged and is more of a spellcaster
abilities
-bone dragons-->large, flying, sorrow strike
-ghost dragon-->" ", incorporeality, aging, soulhunter(look at naadir's special ability for info)
-vampiric dragon->" ", vampirism, no retaliation, unlimited retaliation
-Black Knight-->Large, mounted(additional damage vs. non-pike ground units), cursing attack
-Death Knight-->" ", double damage(50% chance to do double damage), no retaliation
-Shadow Knight-->" ",ranged, weakness, spell: suffering, spell: Cotn!!!
-Lich-->small!, ranged, death cloud, spell: decay, spell: weakness
-Lichlord-->" ", spell: suffering, spell: blind, spell: sorrow
-Archlich-->small, ranged, spell: raise dead, spell: decay
-Vampire-->small, vampirism, no retaliation
-Vampire Lord-->" ", unlimited retaliation
-Vampire Prince-->small, vampirism, torpor
-Wight-->large, mana drain
-Wraith-->" ", spell: harm touch, spell: banshee howl(reduces all living unit's initiative, luck, and morale by 3)
-Reaper-->" ", cleave(hits enemy units next to target for half damage), harvest(gives one mana to hero per enemy slain by Reaper)
-Zombie-->small, plague
-Mummy-->" ", spell: sandstorm(deals damage to all living enemies in a 6 by 3 tile area)
-Ghoul-->" ", wall climb, spell: cannibalize(can eat a dead stack of former living units and replenish 3 hp per unit eaten
-Skeleton Archer-->small, ranged, spell: hail of arrows(damages all units within a 6 by 3 tile area)
-Skeleton Sharpshooter-->" ", no ranged penalty, piercing shot (shoots any creature behind target)
-Skeleton Soulhunter-->" ", soulhunter, black arrows(deals additional damage vs. living units)
-Skeleton Warrior-->small, bash
-Skeleton Soldier-->" ", cleave, 25% magic attack reduction
-Skeleton Guardian-->" ", shield, shield allies, pike(additional damage vs. mounted units)
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