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| Thread: H6-factions creating competition |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted December 08, 2010 07:04 AM |
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admira, please post NO BUILDINGS IN THIS SUB-ROUND!!! They belong into the "town"-sub-round, not with the creatures! ...sorry that I keep insisting on it, but it was written clearly in the rules and I seperated them for a reason!
...if, however, REALLY many of you want it differently and tell me, we could change it...
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admira
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted December 08, 2010 07:14 AM |
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Alrighty, I have deleted the town section sorry about that, it appears I kinda loose about this sub-round. I thought it was a sub-round on specific faction complete with its town building, fixing my entry on page 2 then.
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DarkLord
Supreme Hero
Fear me..
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posted December 08, 2010 01:34 PM |
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HAVEN or "EMPIRE"
core:
Archer / Marksman
Praetorian / Centurion (should hold a sword Not pike)
Priestess / Oracle
elite:
Griffin / Royal Griffin
Crusader / Paladin
Chariot / Imperial Chariot (chariot can be with horses OR lions)
champion:
Angel / Archangel (should be male)
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Oscarius
Famous Hero
*sleepy*
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posted December 08, 2010 02:00 PM |
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Well, consider me in too.
Let's see if I can manage a town with both some original stuff and (for once) proper grammar in the descriptions. 
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Need moar avatars!
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted December 08, 2010 05:57 PM |
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Meh ... Haven is not an easy faction to be creative with. Though I've been thinking for several days and looking all around for inspiration, I simply couldn't find any decent none-human addition to the line-up other than a) War Machine (don't work with normal War Machine mecanism), b) combat Dog (too similar to Hell Hound), or c) Unicorn (too Sylvan XD).
So this is my offering:
Core:
Pikeman
Armed with heavy shields and long polearms, the Pikemen are the Haven frontline infantry. The Pikemen specialize in protecting friendly units from enemy fire and breaking hostily cavalry charges.
The upgraded Pikeman is the Sentinel.
Properties: High defence, low attack, low damage, solid HP.
- Charge Breaker: Deals double damage when retaliating against mounted units, immune to charge bonus.
- Large Shield (upgrade): Receives 50 % damage from Ranged Attack.
- Shield Other (upgrade): Provides 25 % cover for adjacent units.
Marksman
The Marksman constitute the centre of the Haven core line-up. Armed with deadly crossbows, they specialize in long-range precision and are feared for their ability to take down almost any target with deadly accuracy.
The upgraded Marksman is the Sniper.
Properties: Low defence, medium attack, high damage, low HP. Ranged.
- Long Range: Unit has no penalty from range.
- Call Shot (upgrade): Unit can target a stack with a Call Shot, which if succcesfull will kill exactly one creature in target stack. Chance of succes depends on size of stack compared to strength of target creature.
Healer
The Healers are dedicated to caring for the wounded on the battlefield. Blessed by the Dragon of Light, these women posses magical abilities to aid and strengthen allied units.
The upgraded Healer is the Prietess.
Properties: Medium defence, low attack, low damage, low HP.
- Lay Hands: Debuffs and heals target.
- Sanctuary: Any unit targeting this stack will suffer -1 morale, unless the Healer made first blood.
- Empathy: This unit will gain +5% atb each time a friendly unit is wounded during combat.
- Divine Protection (upgrade): This unit will suffer an amount of damage reduction equivalent to 10% * X, where X is a random number between 0 and R. R is determined by Hero representation and will be capped at 10.
- Spells (upgrade): The unit can cast a selection of blessings on friendly units: Divine Strength, Endurance, Righteous Might.
Elite:
Crusader
Crusaders are the elite infantry units of the Haven army. Armed with blessed blades, these men are dedi-cated to the fight against the minions of darkness. The most righteous of this group is promoted to the prestigious rank of the royal Falcon Guard, granting them magical powers of Light.
The upgrade of the Crusader is the Falcon Guard.
Properties: Low defence, high attack, high damage, medium HP.
- Blessed Sword: This unit ignores Incorporeality.
- Righteous: This unit does additional damage to units under control of evil heroes if the unit itself is under control of a good hero.
- Assault (upgrade): May gain a second attack after enemy retaliation, depending on the individual strengths of the stack.
- Enchanted Blade (upgrade): Target may be blinded.
Griffin
The Griffins are formidable and awe-inspiring creatures; half eagle and half lion, these creatures posses both elegance and raw strength. Charging down from the sky, these creatures will strike any enemy with a heart with fear.
The upgraded Griffin is the Imperial Griffin.
Properties: High defence, medium attack, midlow damage, midhigh HP. Flyer. Large.
- Unlimited Retaliation: This creature always retaliates unless attacker has No Retaliation ability.
- Intimidate: Small creatures get -1 morale when facing this unit.
- Battle Dive (upgrade): Can target a creature for next attack. The Griffin will fly off the Battlefield for half a turn, and will then perform a Dive Attack for 50 % extra damage and suffering no retaliation.
Paladin
There are many knights in the Holy Empire, but only those deemed worthy by Elrath himself can join the Order of the Holy Sun and gain the rank of Paladin. These champions of the Light are riding enchanted steeds summoned from Elrath's spiritual realm that are said to be able to ride on the faintest ray of light.
The upgraded Paladin is the Sun Champion.
Properties: Medium defence, medium attack, high damage, medium HP.
- Charge: This creature gains a 5 % damage bonus for every tile covered on its way to the target.
- Trample: This unit may move through (but not end in) a tile occupied by a small creature, dealing 30 % attack damage on the way.
- Sun Strider: This unit gains +2 speed when fighting in Sunlight.
- Chosen By Elrath: This unit has 30 % resistance to Dark spells.
- Favored By Elrath (upgrade): This unit has a 50 % resistance to Dark spells.
- Holy Aura (upgrade): All friendly units adjacant to this creature gains 30 % resistance to Dark spells.
Champion
Angel
Physically imposing and striking in their perfection, the Angels are Elrath's messengers – and shock troops – on the face of Ashan. They are taller than humans, far more beautiful, and project an aura of power and confidence. In battle they wield the twin blades of Judgment and Mercy.
The upgraded Angel is the Seraph.
Properties: Medium defence and attack, midhigh fixed damage, medium HP. Flyer.
- Aura Of Glory: All friendly units get +1 morale when Angels are on the battlefield.
- Divine Avenger: Deals additional damage to creatures led by an evil hero if itself led by a good hero, depending on the number of creatures the target has killed.
- Resurrect Allies (upgrade): Once per combat, this creature can bring some fallen allies back to life.
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What will happen now?
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vitorsly
Known Hero
Joker!
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posted December 08, 2010 06:17 PM |
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Edited by vitorsly at 01:03, 12 Dec 2010.
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1 Faction only?
Then the combination I would luike most is:
Core:
Peasant/Militia (High population and low on cost but low stats and 0 abilities/more stats and bash ability)
Crossbowman/Sharpshooter (shooter with good attack but low defence/shooter and precise shot ability)
Footman/Warrior (good fighter all around/ Large shield ability)
Elite:
Healer/Priestess (Powerfull healer and blesser/ can shoot lightning)
Grifin/Royal Grifin (2 retaliations per turn and good overall/ unlimited retaliation and batle dive)
Templar/Palladin (Powerfull fighter with a morale aura/ has double strike ability)
Champion:
Sun Rider/Sun Crusader (Flyer that can double strike and has powerfull atacks/ Even better and a Ressucerect ability)
I will let the angels be bosses.
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Paiazza
Known Hero
لىخ ضل
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posted December 08, 2010 08:23 PM |
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Edited by Paiazza at 22:14, 13 Dec 2010.
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HAVEN CREATURES
CORE
Sentinel - Praetorian
The Sentinel nobly offers protection to his weaker compatriots in battle, fighting off all attackers with his spear and shield guarding against the profane beings that would fight against Elrath.
Walker - Attack weak - Defense high
Shield Wall - Focus on defense decreasing damage taken next turn by 50%
Martyrdom - The Sentinel protects a certain unit redirecting the damage taken by that unit to the Sentinel. Only 1 target can be affected by Martyrdom, only works in very close range
Crossbowman - Eagle Eye
These men armed only with courage, honor and the triumphant crossbow their destiny is written in truth that the crossbow is the true reason why they were victorious over so many wars.
Shooter - Attack medium - Defense low
Eagle Vision - Marks a target from Heaven's skies dealing maximum damage + 10%, lasts 2 turns, 3 charges/battle
* upgrade * Double Attack - Eagle Eye shoots twice
Virgin - Saint
The Virgin has devoted all her life to purity and perfection. Seeking the power of light and benevolence she can heal the wounds of fallen warriors on the battlefield defying destruction and death.
Caster - Attack weak - Defense weak
Heal - Heals the target for 100% of their hp, 1 Virgin can only fully heal 1 single unit from the stack, whether if the healed unit has 1% or 99% hp it will be healed up to 100%, 10% of Virgin's base mana
Purify - Remove all harmful effects from the target, 5% mana cost
Bless - Blessed target inflicts maximum damage, last 5 turns, 5% mana cost
* upgrade * Smite - Saint smites the target with holy damage, 5% mana cost
Saint has 50% more mana than the Virgin
======================================================================
ELITE
Winged Vengeance - Valkyrie
Originally created by an eminent and supercilious hierophant as an agent of cleansing the world of evil. Winged Vengeance was fashioned from blessed ivory and bone and instilled with magic. Ranks upon ranks of men of ill repute fell to her daggers, and as she killed she began to increasingly see some taint of darkness in everything that met her gaze. Soon her father, the hierophant, found himself subject to her judgement. Now she scours the lands of all that she deems inadequate and contrary to her own purity, which has proven to be everyone she has come across. As an emissary of Elrath, the Vengeance's holy blade smites all those who threaten the Empire.
Flyer - Attack high - Defense weak
Avenging Strikes - witch each Winged Vengeance's attacks her damage increases by 10%, up to 100%, this bloody gesture also increases the chance enemies will deal maximum damage to the Winged Vengeance in equal percentages(one turn attack is considered one attack, attacks from Alacrity do not affect this ability)
Alacrity - Winged Vengeance has double attack, controlled each and can attack any other target with each attack, attacks deals damage in this way:
1st = 75%, 2nd = 100%
* upgrade * Alacrity - Valkyrie has triple attack, controlled each and can attack any other target with each attack, attacks deals damage in this way:
1st = 100%, 2nd = 133%, 3rd = 166%
Witch Hunter - Slayer
Long devoted to the task of eradicating evil, the Witch Hunter attacks with holy force and is immune to mind trickery and curses through his experience in battling evil forces, as he has withstood the fires and the terrors of Hell itself to oust evil influences from the realm.
Walker/Shooter - Attack medium - Defense medium
Silver blade - Witch Hunter deals double damage vs Demons & Undeads
Handgun - The Witch Hunter shoots fast bullets from his handgun, this ability only deals half of Witch Hunter's damage, 5 shots
Mental Strength - The Witch Hunter is immune to mind base spells and abilities
* upgrade * Silver blade - Slayer deals triple damage vs Demons & Undeads
Paladin - Sun Gladiator
The Paladin has been granted the best armor in the land to staunchly defend his people against unholy forces using his divine strength to guard the Empire against inequity. Being consumed by his earthly mission to fight evil, the Paladin's absolute faith propels him to defend the innocent, making him a formidable adversary.
(gladiator literally means "swordsman")
Walker - Attack medium - Defense high
Sacred Strike - The Paladin prays for power gaining a huge damage boost, increase damage by 400%, this ability consumes Paladin's turn and only affects next attack, losing 1 turn from 2 in which only 1 attack lands is equal to double attack per turn, 200%/t, but instead as this ability works it loses 1 turn and gains 400% damage in the next one, 3 charges/battle
Divine Armor - This magical forged armor protects the Paladin from magic giving him the chance to reflect spells, spells and magic-based attacks from creatures have a 20% change to be reflected back to the attacker, spells casted by hero will be reflected on his creatures - the one who is nearest the Paladin
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CHAMPION
Griffin - Sky Lord
The Griffin is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Some stories say that Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. Some ancient scholars have suggested that the word griffin is cognate with Cherub, whilst others considered the Griffin "a protector from evil". Rumor speaks of an ancient, mythical beast that dwells beneath the Island of Time. None know whether it was lured there, found in the hold of a wrecked ship, or simply lived on the Island prior to the human's arrival. Regardless, Elrath has put it to use - guarding the Island's most valuable artifacts - and for good reason. Few creatures can match the power and ferocity of the Griffin. This massive winged creature is capable of swift flight, allowing it to dodge all conventional attacks. Further, the constant beating of its wings creates strong winds - pushing back anyone attempting to close ranks with it. Add to this its razor-sharp talons and powerful beak - one would be hard pressed to find a more challenging opponent. And this is to say nothing of its serpentine tail. The griffin is said to be hundreds - if not thousands - of years old, leading some to speculate it must be able to regenerate itself over time. It's all hearsay, however, since no one has ever faced the griffin and lived to tell about it. Height: 500 cm. Weight: 2 ton.
Strength: The Griffin's strengths are numerous - among them are the ability to fly (avoiding most attacks) and rumors of regenerative properties (allowing them to heal over time).
Weakness: A beast of such legendary stature has no weaknesses! Those foolish enough to challenge The Griffin had best possess some kind of unique talent...
Weapon of Choice: This creature will utilize its Claws, Beak, and Tail to tear opponents to pieces.
Flyer - Attack high - Defense high
Triumphant Presence - The Griffin roars making a sound like a lion's roar mixed with an eagle's cry increasing maximum damage of all units by 10% and maximizing the morale for the next turn(your next creature's turn only, so only 1 creatures gets maximum morale/1t, but the 10% damage affects all creature's next attack), this ability activates when the Griffin first attacks during that battle, and keeps reactivating each time it attacks, only works from Griffin's own attacks, not from retaliations
Unlimited Retaliation - the Griffin has unlimited retaliations
Immortal soul - each time 1 Griffin from the stack dies, it retaliates once again with double damage
* upgrade * Shockwave Attack - when angered, the Sky Lord will rear up on its hind legs, before slamming into the ground, producing a devastating shockwave attack, obliterating anything in its path.
Living Cyclone - the Sky Lord flyies up into the sky and dives back towards a selected enemy spinning its massive wings in the form of a cyclone delivering a devastating attack, increases damage by 1000%
- Sky Lord - has a mechanic that works in this way:
it gets angered when attacked generating Sacred Rage, it generates 1 Sacred Rage for each attack received up to maximum of 20, special abilities consume this rage in this way:
Shockwave Attack - 4 Sacred Rage
Living Cyclone - 16 Sacred Rage
Griffin looks like the official one and Sky Lord looks like this ^
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted December 08, 2010 08:37 PM |
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People, let me remind you some ingame facts are wanted, too:
Quote:
-You must give the strengths and weaknesses of each creature - not necessarily through stats, a short statement is enough! - hopefully including how expensive it is and how big its growth.
-You must give some special abilities, or state the creature has none.
But great work, so far!!! 
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted December 08, 2010 10:25 PM |
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When does the creature creation for Haven sub-round ends? I have a half-baked line-up, but I simply don't have the time to finish and post it.
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted December 08, 2010 10:52 PM |
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@nightterror:
amateurs? I think you are a quite good faction-maker, so far. With growth, I mean, agian, no numbers, but like with the strength description: High or low growth rate. And that's not too difficult: The stronger the creature shall be in comparison to it's Tier (Core, Elite or Champion)'s average, the lower it's growth will be, normally, and the higher it's cost...so giving them shows us where the creature in comparison to the average is...I don't think that too difficult...what do, however, the other competitors say?
@zenofex:
You have at least until the evening of sunday, 12th of september. if you need more time, you can ask for an extension of a week
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Jabanoss
Promising
Legendary Hero
Property of Nightterror™
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posted December 08, 2010 11:00 PM |
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Edited by Jabanoss at 23:01, 08 Dec 2010.
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Quote:
what do, however, the other competitors say?
I say it should be optional. If someone wants to specify the cost and growth of a unit they should. But everyone shouldn't have to unless they want to.
Quote:
You have at least until the evening of sunday, 12th of september. if you need more time, you can ask for an extension of a week
good to know, since I'm still working on it as well
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"You turn me on Jaba"
- Meroe
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted December 08, 2010 11:07 PM |
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I didn't really mean it as necessary...that's why I wrote "hopefully"...but perhaps I need to say it in a different way?
Here, btw, shall be the place for my proposal, if I manage to finish one, that is...
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WitchHunter
Adventuring Hero
Problem Drinker
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posted December 09, 2010 02:44 AM |
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Alright, here's my offering...
Haven
Core
Footman->Sentinel
Footmen are the front line warriors of the haven army.
Appearance: Similar to the Praetorian and Sentinel, except with a sword instead of a pike, and no cape (mainly to show they're not really special).
Footman Abilities
Large Shield- Reduces damage dealt by ranged attackers
Sentinel Abilities
Shield Wall- When placed beside another stack of creatures with the "Large Shield" ability, this creature's defense is increased. In addition, the damage reduction of shield others will be increased.
Shield Others- Any allied creatures 1 tile behind this creature will take less damage from ranged attacks. This bonus is reduced if the protected creature is a large creature.
Stand Ground- This creature is immune to slowing spells, abilities and effects when defending.
Strengths- Good defensively, moderate speed.
Weaknesses- Below average offensive abilities.
Crossbowman->Marksman
Crossbowmen are warriors who are capable of using the crossbow, and fire heavy, piercing bolts at their enemies, with the most impeccable aim.
Appearance: Armor wise, similar to that of the Heroes V Archers.
Crossbowman abilities
Shooter
Marksman Abilities
Precise Shot- If an enemy possesses an ability that reduces ranged damage, it is ignored. Normal range penalties apply to the attack though
Take Aim- Marksman attacks ignore the defense of a waiting enemy
Strengths- Good attack, Ranged attacker, has the ability to bypass ranged defense and armor
Weaknesses- Low Health, and unable to deal much damage in melee
Ironclad-> Iron Mauler
Ironclad are warriors who are clad in heavy armor. While they are not very mobile, they're capable of inflicting massive amounts of damage and taking lots of punishment
Appearance: Similar to the H5 Squire, but with a Larger shield and a Morning star instead of a sword.
Ironclad Abilities
Large Shield
Bash- Attacks may stun, preventing retaliation from this strike
Iron Mauler Abilities
Full Protection- Lucky attacks only deal 1.5x damage against this creature
Heavy Armor- Creature is immune to armor reducing abilities when given the Defend order.
Strengths- Excellent Defense, Effective attacking abilities
Weaknesses- Incredibly slow, Low HP makes it a target for Spells
Elite
Griffin-> Imperial Griffin
Griffins are beasts that are part eagle and part lion.
Appearance- Similar to the H6 Griffins, except with a somewhat shorter neck. The Armor on the Imperial Griffin should look the same
Griffin Abilities
Large Creature
Flyer
Unlimited Retaliations
Immune to Blind
Imperial Griffin Abilities
Aerial Interception- If an enemy Flyer moves over this creature , this creature performs a half damage attack on the flyer. This ability does not work with teleporters
Strengths- Excellent Speed, good attack and damage and respectable stats.
Weaknesses- Low Hp
Cleric-> Inquisitor
Clerics are Priestesses of Elrath, who bring the word of light to those around the empire and those who have not yet heard of Elrath.
Appearance- Female, with Blonde hair. Clerics have similar looking attire to the H5 Priests, except with a spellbook on their side, a sword attached to their belt, and a staff in their arm. Inquisitors are more armored than the Clerics.
Cleric Abilities
Shooter
Spellcaster: Divine Strength, Endurance
Inquisitor Abilities
Divine Protection: The effective spellpower of any dark magic spell cast on this creature will be reduced by 4.
Spellcaster: Divine Strength, Endurance, Righteous Might
Aura of Sanctuary: Halves the duration of of dark magic spells on this creature, and any adjacent creature. Duration returns to normal if the creature moves away.
Strengths- Spellcaster, Ranged attacker, Good HP, Attack, Defense, Useful against Dark Magic users
Weaknesses- Weak offensive abilities coupled with low growth, Abilities only useful vs Dark Magic users. Also slow.
Crusader->Paladin
Crusaders are Holy Warriors. Mounted on Horseback, they strike with heavy lances against the non-believers.
Appearance: Similar to the appearance of the footman, except riding a horse and wielding lances. Paladins have a cape, as well as two cross shaped adornments on his pauldrons. Both the Crusader and Paladin look more decorated than their peers.
Crusader Abilities
Large Creature
Divine Protection- Reduces the effective spellpower of any Dark magic spell cast on this creature by 4.
Jousting- Damage is increased by 5% for each tile traveled
Paladin Abilities
Full Protection
Holy Lance- When striking an undead or demonic creature, the effective damage range of this creature is increased by 5.
Holy Shield- This creature's effective magic resistance is doubled if it is targeted by a Dark Magic Spell. This ability works with Mass spells as well.
Strengths- Excellent Attack, Defense, Speed and Hit Points. Excels in all areas
Weaknesses- Susceptible to Destructive Magic, Low Growth rate, very expensive.
Champion
Divine-> Seraph
Divines are incarnations of Elrath, literal aspects. They cannot be slain on the mortal plane, and will instead return to their plane when defeated.
Appearance- Similar to that of the H6 Seraphs, except with only one sword, rather than two. Also, the wing guards are gone.
Divine Abilities
Large Creature
Flyer
Divine Presence- Increases the Morale of allied troops by 1
Seraph Abilities
Ressurect Allies- Casts Expert Ressurection on an Allied stack. Can only be used once per battle.
Bringer of Light- Any Light magic spell cast on this creature will be duplicated on an allied creature with the same mastery level and spellpower of the caster.
Strengths: High Attack, Defense and Speed, useful abilities
Weaknesses: Expensive, Susceptible to Magic in general.
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I'm taking my talents to South Beach. I'm leaving my brain in Cleveland though.
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War-overlord
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Presidente of Isla del Tropico
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posted December 09, 2010 12:12 PM |
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I updated my creatures for those interested.
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Vote El Presidente! Or Else!
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted December 09, 2010 03:37 PM |
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I also added properties to mine. It seems we're all making pretty much the same creatures.
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What will happen now?
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War-overlord
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Presidente of Isla del Tropico
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posted December 09, 2010 03:48 PM |
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Yeah, well Haven is one of the most limited and conservative factions. We all like it to be a medieval human town, so that's likely what it's gonna stay.
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Vote El Presidente! Or Else!
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admira
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted December 09, 2010 04:47 PM |
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yup, and some of the creature arts so far are satisfactory (to most people I believe). I can't or even don't want to replace Sentinel in any way except inventing some ability which quite obvious with their large shield and armor.
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War-overlord
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Presidente of Isla del Tropico
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posted December 10, 2010 06:19 PM |
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For those interested, I have added a bit of Background for Haven.
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Vote El Presidente! Or Else!
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted December 10, 2010 10:10 PM |
bonus applied by alcibiades on 10 Dec 2010. |
Edited by Zenofex at 22:24, 10 Dec 2010.
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So here's my suggestion for (one rather different) Haven:
Core 1:
Pikeman – A professional soldier drawn from the lower classes. The imperial pikemen training emphasizes on defensive tactics and supporting other infantry, although some offensive applications are not totally out of the question. They pride themselves for being real soldiers – lacking the fancy equipment of the nobles, marching for days, fighting tired and sometimes hungry and still being able to win the day. When it comes to standing their ground, these troops are amongst the most durable formations known in Ashan and more than a nuisance for even the most determined attackers.
General description: High HP, low Damage and mobility, medium Initiative defensive unit. HtH attack only. Small unit.
Special abilities: Pike Wall – the stack is rendered immobile, its Defense is increased by 50%, it receives immunity to the additional damage caused by Jousting-like abilities (that increase the damage the more the creature travels to the target), abilities and spells that may move them away from the square they currently occupy (except teleportation) and returns 10% damage for each square the attacker travels before hitting the Pikeman stack (the latter does not apply for teleporting creatures). Activated ability; Pole Arm – a group of more than 50 Pikemen retaliate twice for each attack against them because of the length of the weapon allowing not only the first line(s) to hit the opposing enemies.
Landsknecht – A pikeman who has fought in a few major battles, the Landsknecht is considered more reliable soldier and enjoys better status in the society due to his proven qualities as a defender of the homeland (and when necessary – conqueror of others’ homelands). On the battlefield, Landsknecht regiments are tough obstacles for the enemy offensive forces, but can also be employed as an advancing phalanx which can force the enemy to take some unpleasant decisions. They are nigh legendary for their stubborn resistance even in the most desperate situations against all but the mightiest foes and are often considered the most capable basic infantry in the world, although some of the Empire’s enemies tend to disagree.
Special abilities: Pike Wall; Pole Arm; Phalanx Formation – the stack advances on the enemy in tight lines with its Speed and Initiative halved, taking 50% reduced damage from all enemy attacks (except spells). Activated ability. Disciplined – all negative morale effects on this unit are decreased by 1 point.
Core 2:
Martyr – The world of spirits is much more colorful place than the commoners think. This fact remains hidden most of the time because the vast majority of the spiritual beings are no more interested in the material world than the vast majority of the corporeal creatures are interested in the immaterial realm. One of the most wide-spread misconceptions is that the spirits which manifest their presence among the living are predominantly malevolent or at least aggressive. Although some corrupted and tormented phantasm indeed prey on the living – usually not unguided – there are many other which prefer to help instead of harm. According to many scholars, there is nothing altruistic in this behavior. The helpful spirits are almost always righteous people who have died (often – quite gruesomely) in defense of their beloved people. Their death transforms their mortal ideals into inescapable urge to fulfill their missions as protectors and they can’t do anything by keep helping those which were dear to them in life and anyone else who the living man would have considered worthy. In essence, this state does not differ from an obsessive mania.
General description: Low HP and Defense, very low Attack and Damage, highly mobile support creature. HtH attack only. Small unit.
Special abilities: Possess Friend – the Martyr merges with a friendly stack, increasing its HP, Attack, Defense and Initiative proportionally to the level (Core, Elite, Champion) of the possessed stack and the size of the possessing stack. The possessing Martyrs can leave the possessed stack at any time, restoring its attributes to normal but losing their next round. Dispelling and banishing spells can drive the Martyrs out of the possessed stack and paralyze them for 1 round after that. If the possessed stack is killed, the possessing Martyrs die with it. For a successful possession, the target has to be within the movement range of the possessors. Can not possess Hybrids/Symbiots. Activated ability; Aid – at the beginning of each round, the creature casts random buffing spell on a random good- or neutral-aligned friendly stack (is there are any evil creatures in the same army, they do not receive any blessings from the spirit). This is passive ability and does not waste The spirit’s turn. The ability is deactivated if the spirit possesses another creature’s body and reactivated if/when it exits it.
Nemesis – There are no universally friendly spirits. The explanation for this is the consciousness in general, thought to be possessed by both living and unliving creatures but having very different structure and processes in each case. Most scholars and mages hold the theory of the layered individual consciousness, according to which the mind is indestructible but passed through different stages – or layers – depending on its level of interaction with the material and the immaterial worlds, and generally the consciousness at one layer is not exactly the same as the consciousness at another due to fundamental differences in perception. There are points of contact though. According to the same theory certain types of memory are easily transferred from one layer to another, keeping the continuity of the individual mind and making it unique among the others. One of the most easily conveyable memories is that of the strong feeling of injustice. This is the attribute most often associated with the so called Nemesis – a rather strange variation of the Martyr spirit, which feels no anger or hatred, but can act against those who perform deeds considered “evil” and weaken them to the point of impossibility to do harm.
Special abilities: Possess Friend; Aid; Possess Foe – the Nemesis merges with an enemy stack, lowering its Attack, Defense, Speed and Initiative for 3 rounds. When it exits the possessed body, both the Nemesis and its former host are paralyzed for 1 round. The stats reduction is proportional to the size of the possessing stack and the level of the possessed. Dispelling and banishing spells can drive the spirits out of the possessed stack and paralyze them for 1 round after that. If the possessed stack is killed, the possessing spirits die with it. For a successful possession, the target has to be within the movement range of the possessors.
Core 3:
Scout Cavalry – The Empire has recognized the necessity of highly mobile troops, capable of both scouting the enemy movement and thus providing vital information about the strength and the most likely actions of the opponent, and capable of putting some fight on the battlefield when required. The scout squadrons meet this demand. Their potential had often been underestimated in the past, which according to some more recent and cleverer analyses had led greater casualties than necessary. The successful usage of scout troops serving as readily available light cavalry during several campaigns has increased their prestige significantly and their employment – even more so.
General description: Highly mobile unit with medium combat stats, but relatively low damage used for information gathering and attacking the lighter enemy troops. HtH attack only. The upgraded version can shoot. Large unit.
Special abilities: Reconnaissance – provides precise information about the size of the opposing nearby enemy army or neutral creatures close on the adventure map (exact digits instead of general estimation like “few”, “several”, “pack”, “lots”, etc.); Galloping – immediately increases the Speed of the unit enough to cover the entire battlefield. Activated ability, the effect lasts 1 turn and can be used only once per battle.
Mounted Crossbowman – The logical next step after one creates a new type of battle unit is to start thinking of more ways to increase its efficiency. For the imperial generals the logical next step for a mounted scout is a mounted scout who can do everything (at least in theory). Combining a scout, a highly mobile light cavalryman and a crossbowman in one gave good though not perfect results. Training the respective troops to ride and shoot with a crossbow at the same time proved to be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Training them to ride and shoot with a crossbow separately however was much easier. This resulted in a cavalry formation which can act as a standard light cavalry, dismount to become a unit of crossbowmen and if necessary – shoot from a horseback, but no great results should be expected in the latter case.
Note: the unit can shoot while mounted, but in this case it deals only 75% of its full damage, has effective range (where these 75% are fully delivered, i.e. “straight arrow attack”) of only 4 squares and does not benefit from the bonuses of the dismounted crossbowman. There is no melee penalty when the unit stays mounted.
Special abilities: Improved Reconnaissance – apart from the size of the opposing forces, the unit now sees the primary skills of the enemy hero and the amount of resources in the resource piles around; Galloping; Dismount – the unit dismounts to become foot crossbowman. The action can be performed before or during the battle, but in the latter case it costs one round. This increases the effective range to 80% of the battlefield (i.e. only targets occupying the furthest squares of the field take half damage) and provides the opportunity for a precise shot at all targets situated at 4 squares at most from the crossbowman’s current location. A precise shot ignores half of the Defense points of the shot creature. A dismounted crossbowman has only half of the speed of the mounted one, occupies only 1 square (small creature) and has melee penalty; Mount – the opposite of Dismount – the unit gets back on the horse, its ranged potency is reduced, but the Speed is doubled and it has no melee penalty when fighting in hand-to-hand combat.
Elite 1:
Exorcist – The Order of Purity is the misleading title of one of the most secretive organizations in the Empire. It is said to recruits its members by force from the intelligent and magically adept monks who have decided to devote their lives to spiritual elaboration rather than developing their (politically) more “useful” talents and actively participating in the wars against the many enemies of the humans. After extensive “conditioning” and even more extensive training, even the humblest former monks turn into emotionless agents of the Empire, used exclusively to destroy all foreign influence considered dangerous – including all who spread it. They are feared as much as they are needed though – something which even their strongest opponents realize. The agents of the Order can negate the dark powers which can corrupt entire armies, thus saving many lives and increasing the chances for victory. Because of this, they often take part in major military campaigns. Small unit.
General description: Support unit with medium combat stats. The upgraded version is somewhat more capable of taking and dealing damage. HtH attack only.
Special abilities: Dark Transfer – the Exorcist dispels all debuffing effects from a friendly stack or himself and places them on a chosen enemy stack. Activated ability; Hex Field – all friendly stacks receive 35% resistance to debuffing spells and effects (including from creature/hero abilities); Mind Discipline – the Exorcist is immune to mind control.
Black Saint – High-ranking agents of the Order of Purity are almost never seen outside the battlefield (they do operate among the civilians quite a lot, but there are too few sane survivors who can claim for certain that they have seen them) and even there they always fight fully covered and hooded. The so-called Black Saints is actually alias of many nameless operatives who normally work as counter-spies against the most dangerous enemy infiltrators and hostile cults within the borders of the Empire. Their work quite often involves dealing with powerful supernatural foes, which combined with their extensive physical, mental and arcane training makes them more than useful on the battlefield. The Order normally dispatches a few companies of Black Saints, specially trained to fight as battle units and assist the regular army in its military enterprises. Their main strength lies in their ability to disrupt the unnatural power of the many extraordinary enemies the imperial troops tend to face and use it against them.
Special abilities: Dark Transfer; Hex Field; Mind Discipline; Energy Absorbing – the Black Saint absorbs the energies of all spells cast against himself (their effects against him are normal, in case they are not resisted by his other abilities), giving him to ability to cast every single one of them as many times as they were used against him – including mass spells and AoE spells; Pain Mirror – reflects 35% of all non-magical damage – ranged and melee – back to the attacker.
Elite2:
Field Engineer – An army composed of infantrymen and cavalry is an efficient force on its own in many scenarios, but not always. As the imperial generals often remind their sovereigns, the soldiers can tire from swinging against countless foes and fall before the enormous monsters brought in dozens and sometimes even hundreds to the battlefield by the enemy. To counter the various threats that may prove to be too difficult to be handled with regular army formations, the human armies often have a sufficient number of war machines with them. These devices are assembled, operated, repaired and disassembled by combat-trained engineers. Educated in civil and military academies and excessively intelligent for soldiers, these men are among the brightest minds of humankind, unfortunately often forced to express the destructive side of their talents and rarely allowed to practice their other abilities – be it because of constant engagement in war campaigns or church dogmas.
General description: Medium HP, medium Defense, low Attack, Speed and Initiative support unit. When the enemy creature attacks, it chooses whether to target the engineers or the war machines. Blesses and curses affect the engineers only, not the machines deployed by them. Before the battle initiates, the engineers choose what war machine they want to deploy initially. Another war machine can be deployed to substitute the previous one at any time, but the action costs one round. The engineers themselves have only HtH attack. Small unit, but the war machines are large.
Special abilities: Deploy Ballista – a minimum of 4 engineers can deploy 1 Ballista on the battlefield. At least half of them are necessary to operate the device, so if more than 2 are killed, the Ballista is rendered useless. Each 4 other engineers can deploy another Ballista and so on. The Ballista shoots through all targets (including friendly ones) on a straight line to the other end of the battlefield. The projectile ignores 35% of the Defense of the hit creatures. It can fire flaming missiles which hit only 1 target, but deal slightly higher damage and has a chance to set it ablaze (creatures with fire immunity take half damage and can not be set on fire). The Ballista is relatively durable machine with high Attack, but has low Speed and thus is difficult to move; Deploy Onager – a minimum of 5 engineers can deploy 1 Onager on the battlefield. Additional Onagers need 5 engineers each. A minimum of 2 engineers are necessary to operate each Onager and if more than 3 are killed, it is rendered useless. The Onager can throw stones with the size of a small water-melon on top of certain area (2x4 squares), damaging all creatures there (friendly ones too), but the range is limited to 6 squares at most in front of it and can not attack targets adjacent to itself. Alternatively it can throw poison bombs (same range) which deal little direct damage but significant damage over time. The Onager is durable and has high Attack, but only 1 Speed.
War Savant – There is a honorable title even among the engineers, who generally care little about “warrior’s honour”. The War Savants are not only battle-hardened specialists but also practicing inventors who modify existing engines for military purposes and re-design the old models of the most wide-spread devices. When the times are more civilized and their services are not needed on the field of battle, they actively work for the advancement of the understanding of the mechanical forces that drive the world. Quite too often their works clash with the official clerical reading of the universal powers and the bolder scientist are being unpleasantly reminded that the facts are lower in the hieararchy than the holy truths. Because of this, they sometimes prefer to leave the Empire, which is one of the reasons the War Savants to be permanently enlisted in the army and kept occupied with something ideologically harmless – usually the development of the next war engine – no matter if there is immediate external threat or not.
Special abilities: Deploy Polybolos – works as the standard Deploy Ballista. The Polybolos fires two missiles each round, effectively doubling the damage, and has all the abilities of the standard Ballista; Deploy Onager; Deploy Flame Cannon – a minimum of 5 engineers can deploy a Flame Cannon. At least 3 of them are necessary to operate the device so if more than 2 are killed, it is rendered useless. New Flame Cannons need 5 engineers each. The Flame Cannon attacks all targets 4 squares in front of itself (including friendly ones), dealing high damage and setting them ablaze (creatures with fire immunity take half damage and can not be set on fire). The Flame Cannon has medium durability and very high Attack, but like the rest of the war machines is relatively slow (yet faster than the other two).
Elite 3:
Griffin Rider – There are two unbreakable rules about the imperial nobility during battle – the nobles ride and the nobles don’t expose their life to dangers as much as the regular soldiers. That is why the nobles ride griffins. A special breed of these beasts exists specifically to serve as a mount for the rulers of the Empire. The war griffins are notably larger than their wild relatives, more tolerant to pain and trained to fight with riders on their backs. To train a Griffin Rider is a long and exhausting process for both of the creatures and in many cases the results are mediocre – the griffin can stand a rider on its back, but is not willing to make complex maneuvers in the air, while the riding noble spends more time maintaining his balance on top of the beast than fighting the enemy. With enough dedication though, the so called “griffin cavaliers” become one of the most dangerous assault forces in Ashan. When not in war, the nobles often organize riding tournaments where they show their skills and the training of their mounts high in the sky.
General description: Tough and fast creature, high Initiative, good Attack and damage and abilities which make it useful offensively and as a support. The upgraded version can resist more damage than the basic. The primary attack is melee but it has ranged abilities. Large unit.
Special abilities: Aerial Attack – the unit circles around the battlefield and the rider fires arrows at all enemy stacks, dealing half of the normal damage and landing somewhere around its initial position. Activated ability, can be used only twice per battle; Interception – the unit can mark a non-teleporting enemy stack and attack it with arrows from the air when it charges against any friendly creature. The damage is 50% of the normal attack damage of the intercepting stack. This preliminary attack is delivered before the actual attack of the enemy creature and does not cost the Griffin Rider’s turn. Can not intercept attacks against self. Assault – the creature rushes at an enemy stack from the air, dealing 25% increased damage and repulsing the attacked stack one square back. Activated ability, can be used once every 3 turns.
Sky King – The Sky King formations are the best results of the griffin war training. Usually both the griffin and the rider are exceptionally skilled and work as a single undividable entity. The two creatures constantly look after each other’s safety and can deliver a very nasty punch, which tends to disorganize the opposing force and make it more vulnerable for the attacks of the other troops. Unlike the lesser trained Griffin Riders, the Sky Kings are normally much better armoured, with both the rider’s and the mount’s mails being capable of resisting strong blows (although this does not make them invincible). When used carefully, this force can inflict massive casualties to the opponent and turn the tide of the battle, but it is not unknown whole squadrons of Sky Kings to be slaughtered because of the overconfidence of their commanders.
Special abilities: Aerial Attack; Interception; Improved Assault Formation – same as the basic version of the ability but can be used once every 2 turns; Well-Armoured – the unit resists 2 additional points of damage from the attack of each enemy creature (for example, if a single creature from a stack can deal 4 damage, it will deal only 2 against the Sky King, so a stack of 20 such creatures will deal 40, not 80 damage). This bonus applies to the normal damage reduction provided by the Defense skill.
Champion:
Hybrid – Also known as a Twilight Prison, the Hybrid is the result of perhaps the most complex and costly magical experiment ever performed. Initially an idea of a group of rogue Wizards who wanted to create an all-knowing being which can help them understand the dynamics of the world in their purest and unbiased manifestation, the Hybrid was supposed to be a combination between an angel and a powerful demon. Most of these magicians died during the experiment and the rest were foolish enough to continue with it on an imperial territory, where they are caught by the Black Saints. Instead of executing them though, they offered to help the endeavor under the conditions that if successful, the creature will be made fully obedient to its human masters and that if it fails, all involved in the process will be “purified for the Empire’s safety”, or just killed in the commoners’ language. The agents of the church quickly identified a great flaw in the first few attempts – combining the essences of two marginally opposing entities could only result in destruction of the specimen and usually everyone else around. That is why a third entity was introduced to serve as a medium and, essentially, a battleground – a human being, yet not an ordinary one. The most devoted and resolute paladins pledged their lives and souls to the experiment.
The result was a partial grim success – the angel and the demon (the latter usually captured by the Saints during their operations) stopped fighting each other directly and instead focused on the paladin’s soul, thus remaining in a relatively stable state. It takes enormous efforts to balance between the two forces which is physically manifested by a constant change in appearance – the former human loses his or her material body and becomes a ghost-like creature which can have angelic features at one moment and demonic at another. When one of the opposing powers has a temporary dominance, it materializes as a beautiful angel or terrible devil. When it maintains its neutral state, the Hybrid refers to itself as “we” and “us”, but when it succumbs to its angelic or demonic inner essence it usually makes individual expressions. This is the most dangerous state as if one of the opposing entities takes the advantage over the other for a long time, it possesses the soul completely making it part of itself and destroys its opposite.
General description: A powerful shifter which can be used in various situations but could also appear to be difficult to control. The stats vary per form but are generally high. HtH attack only.
Special abilities: Balance Aspect – the neutral form of the Hybrid, it can stay in this state for up to 4 rounds, after that it changes into one of the others randomly. No bonuses and penalties when in this form; Angelic Aspect – increases the Defense of the creature by 25%, provides Resurrection once per battle, but decreases the Attack by 25%. If the Hybrid stays in this form for more than 3 rounds, it becomes permanent and it can not change forms any more during the battle. A Hybrid in Angelic Aspect can not transform into a Hybrid in Demonic Aspect directly; Demonic Aspect – increases the Attack and the Damage of the creature by 35% and provides the Disintegrate ability, but decreases the Defense by 25%. Disintegrate is a passive ability, allowing the creature to kill at least 1 unit from the enemy stack and prevent all regenerations/resurrections. If the Hybrid stays in this form for more than 3 rounds, there is a 50% chance to attack a random friendly stack within its movement range at the beginning of the fourth round and if it is still not transformed, during the fifth round it completely runs out of control and starts attacking random creatures on the battlefield each round (mind-control spells and abilities still affect it). If a Demonic Aspect Hybrid is the last standing creature on the battlefield, the battle is lost for both armies. A Hybrid in Demonic Aspect can not change into a Hybrid in Angelic Aspect directly.
Symbiot – If the Hybrid is an overly complex creature, the Symbiot is something which is difficult to be explained even by its makers. The performance of the first few Hybrids employed on the field of battle against the elves was incredible on many levels. They managed to inflict huge casualties to the surprised and horrified enemies and then just as successfully slaughtered a large part of the human army before finally being destroyed. After this experience (and the subsequent heated debates over the future of the experiment) it was more than clear that the different aspects have to be stabilized. The first few ideas were based on finding a way to separate the three entities when necessary, so the paladin’s soul can be freed from its torment and the other two to be allowed to “safely” destroy each other – preferably deep in the enemy lines. The proponents of this approach were horrified to find that after separating the different essences, the paladin’s soul looked like what could be the spiritual equivalent of a gnawed corpse and the two other entities were driven mad to such an extent that they could destroy everything around them before focusing on each other. The alternative approach proved to be more successful – a stabilization of the neutral medium. For this purpose, a second paladin was introduced to the combined creature which now held the essences of four entities in total. Having two souls to fight over finally managed to tame the angel and the demon… to some extent.
The Symbiot is a result of the great, some could sane insane ambition of the humans to dominate over forces vastly superior to them. The other races call it a Harbinger of the End Time because it represents the very battle of the extremes over the frail harmony that allows the world to exist. On the battlefield, there are few creatures as dangerous as this visitor from both Heaven and Hell.
Special abilities: Stabilized Balance Aspect – the creature can remain in its neutral state for indefinitely long periods of time; Improved Angelic Aspect – the creature can remain in this form for 4 rounds before the transformation to something else becomes impossible. Transition straight to Demonic Aspect is still not possible; Improved Demonic Aspect – the creature can remain in this form for 4 rounds without presenting danger for its own army. The rules during the fifth and the sixth round are the same as before for the fourth and the fifth. Transition straight to Angelic Aspect is still not possible.
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted December 10, 2010 10:57 PM |
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Wow ... that was really impressive. Total respect for your creativity, even if there are a few things I find a bit trouble in seing realised in an actual game. I'm an ultra conservative, but you really peaked my curiosity with several of those creatures, and the background stories you provide is both coherent and interesting. 
Possess might just be one of my favorite new abilities, and just the thought of having the Hybrid on the battlefield makes me shiver.
An attempt at some constructive feedback: Some of the Black Saint abilities seem imbalanced. Same for the Areal Attack - it does too much damage. And I have difficulty seeing how the engineer will work in reality - if you have a large stack of this unit (say, 40), and you use the Deploy Ballista action, will you need to ave 10 separate Ballistas on the battlefield, or do I misunderstand you? Because that will be a mess logistically. Of course, if you simply get a stack with 10 Ballistas, it could work.
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What will happen now?
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