17 races?

[Cthulu13]

So could someone give me a general description of each of the 17 racess, including strengths & weaknesses? I've already bought the game but i took the free shipping option and am not sure when it will arive. Thx in advance...

b.t.w. - why is this game so hard to find? Best Buy doesn't carry it, neither does Amazon, Comp USA, or EB Games. Its very annoying...

[Lord Hammer]

Originally posted by Cthulu13:

b.t.w. - why is this game so hard to find? Best Buy doesn't carry it, neither does Amazon, Comp USA, or EB Games. Its very annoying...

It's made by an independent developer only available from Shrapnel Games. Lots of "classic" games are brought to us this way, just cause it's not in a game store says nothing of the product .17 races?...It would take a book to describe them all here but if you browse the forum and related links from the game website you'll find lots of info . I have been playing this beloved game since release and i only know 2 or 3 races well , that's how MUCH there is to it!

[alexti]

Originally posted by Lord Hammer:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cthulu13:

b.t.w. - why is this game so hard to find? Best Buy doesn't carry it, neither does Amazon, Comp USA, or EB Games. Its very annoying...

It's made by an independent developer only available from Shrapnel Games. Lots of "classic" games are brought to us this way, just cause it's not in a game store says nothing of the product .17 races?...It would take a book to describe them all here but if you browse the forum and related links from the game website you'll find lots of info . I have been playing this beloved game since release and i only know 2 or 3 races well , that's how MUCH there is to it!

---

I have been playing since the release of demo and mostly one race, but I still keep changing my opinion about this race strengths and weaknesses

[Taqwus]

Originally posted by Cthulu13:
So could someone give me a general description of each of the 17 racess, including strengths & weaknesses? I've already bought the game but i took the free shipping option and am not sure when it will arive. Thx in advance...

Races are highly variable. After all, the selection of any given nation/race defines only some parameters -- your 'national' units (which can be recruited at any of your fortresses, exception being underwater for land nations and land fortresses for underwater nations) mostly, but also what spells you get without researching, terrain preference and such.

You then get design points, and how you spend them will REALLY affect strengths and weaknesses. For instance, with C'tis, you can spend a whopping 200 points and pick 'Desert Tombs', which gets you access to powerful unholy undead priests, in which case you'll probably be cranking out undead even faster than usual... and Ermor-Ashen Empire is very different from Ermor-Broken Empire.

Heck, even without themes... Ulm with Fortified City, Order 3, Productivity 3, Drain 3, Growth 1, Luck 3, Prince of Death w/ Death-6 (something like this anyway) will play rather differently than Ulm with less powerful scales and a magically talented rainbow mage. The former is tuned for using the pretender as an early head-basher, and will be powerful with conventional forces but will have trouble achieving any magical versatility early on, while the latter would have more trouble cranking out and supporting large conventional armies, but the rainbow mage would be better at finding magical sites and perhaps opening up nonconventional options, esp. with magic sites that yield mages with random capabilities.

Things do vary a lot. It might be safe to generalize somewhat, such as Ulm generally being the steel-heavy approach, Pangaea having more stealth, Arcosephale and esp. Pythium being well-rounded with versatile mages and good heavy infantry, Man having a number of interesting traits such as easy longbow access and strong, if pricey, stealthy units... but scales/themes can make a big difference.

And then there's style and taste... different people may prefer different styles for assorted reasons. I suspect that you might be interested in R'lyeh, which gets to play with units that strongly resemble certain elements of a particular horror/sci-fi mythos.

[General Tacticus]

When you create you God, just choose a race, and you get a nice description. And then click cancel and try another one...

It is not very detailed, but I think you get a very good idea of what the race is about. Of course, if you want to fine tune your picks, you will have to go all the way and play it, at least a little, to get the feel of its units...

[Psitticine]

Let's see, here's a very quick and dirty overview, but keep in mind that (as has already been pointed out) there's such variety in playstyles and set-up options that Your Mileage WILL Vary. Also keep in mind that the variant dominion themes greatly change the nature of a nation, and I've only described the bare-boned basics of the default theme for each nation.

Abyssia: A race of demonic, heat-extruding types who practice blood magic and live in a volcano. They have many units who radiate a damaging heat aura on the battlefield and are heat-immune themselves, for the most part. Their turn-ons: heat, hotness, and burning things. Turn-offs: pushy Caelum, slurpees, and Vanilla Ice.

Atlantis: As the name would imply, an aquatic race. Their main rivals are R'lyeh, the other aquatic nation. Their troops are cold resistant and come in a variety of forms, mostly representing the life cycle of their race. They also ride giant War Lobsters, who are pretty darn cool, IMO.

Pythium: Remnants of a once-great nation (Ermor), they use ancient war techniques updated to use the Hydras found in the swamp nearby. Hydras are among the most powerful units in the game, being poisonous, regenerative, and able to unleash an enormous number of attacks. They do not, however, do as well in the cold, being cold-blooded, and their poison cloud makes it trickier to mix them with units not immune to poison.

Man: Dispossessed Celts, with a rather all-encompassing name. They have wicked longbowmen, help from the mystical Sidhe, and the powerful Knights of Avalon who ride upon unicorns. Their most powerful units, like many, are only recruitable in their capital, making it harder to progress farther from home, but their temples are cheaper than any other race save Pangaea. (Any grove�ll do ya!)

Ulm: Smiths of great renown but limited magical ability. The Black Steel of Ulm is fashioned into arms and armor of tremendous durability. Their only native mages are their smiths, who receive a bonus for forging magical items but lack something in terms of raw built-in power next to other national units. Their infantry and their Black Knights are to be feared by any within their reach.

C'tis: Lizardmen whose Sauromancers have learned to harness both nature and death magic as a part of the cycle of life. It was their teachings, misused, that brought Ermor to ruin. Their troops are varied but are uniformly cold-blooded, making a cold battlefield more challenging to them. Their poison slingers, who release pellets that produce lingering puffs of poison on the battlefield, are excellent when used en masse and combined with poison-resistant infantry.

Arcoscephale: An ancient nation of astronomers and prophets. They fight with chariots, elephants, and their excellent hoplites. They also have their special Priestesses, who can heal units who have received otherwise permanent battle afflictions. They can also scry, an automatic feat that gives them better intelligence as to what is going on around them.

Caelum: Winged fey folk with nasty archers and puny infantry. The Caelum love the cold and live on the top of a mountain to prove it. Their flying units are extremely useful for jumping over enemy lines, both strategically and tactically. When combined with their easily-spooked but powerful War Mammoths, they also have some ground power. Combining War Mammoths with other, high-morale troops is a must, however, unless one wants to trampled by retreating Mammoths.

Ermor: Once a great and learned nation led by the powerful Theurgs, Ermor learned death magic from C�tis Sauromancers and misused that knowledge, leading to their downfall. Ulm (originally a subject nation), Pythium, and Marignon are all fragments of the once-omnipotent Ermor nation. Now, however, Ermor is populated more by the dead than the living. If you seek the Army of Darkness (sans Ash), then look no further. The endless undead hordes of Ermor are tricky to fight, but they do have their weaknesses in the form of priestly banishments.

Marignon: Nobody expects the Marignon Inquisition! Amongst their units are the bizarre but inexpensive Flagellants, the impressive but costly Knights of the Chalice, and an array of potent mage-priests. The House of Just Fires serves as the center for an Inquisition against Ermor-type corruption and the Inquisitors and Witch Hunters trained there are nothing to be trifled with.

Pangaea: The people of the forest strike back! Satyrs, centaurs, and the Pan (powerful Satyr chieftains) form the backbone of Pangaea�s forces. They are stealthy, can regenerate from terrible injuries, and attract free (albeit rather weak) troops in the form of Maenads, women drawn from civilization into a life of wildness and abandon by the Pan. Their stealth, wilderness survival skills, and Nature magic (which gives supply bonuses) means they can form large armies that seem to pop up out of nowhere.

Vanheim: The Vans of Vanheim and their human subjects are able to cross the seas in ships, allowing sudden attacks on opposing shores. They also have many units with the Glamour ability, which allows them to travel in enemy lands unnoticed and acts as great protection in battle. They also have the flying Valkyries, who are not to be trifled with by any man.

Jotunheim: The ancestral enemy of Vanheim, Jotunheim is the land of the Jotuns (obviously). Jotuns are giants and are giant-sized in both cost and effectiveness. They also have good magical units and their local defense is the most cost-effective of all. Any Jotun, even when just trained and equipped as a militiaman, is a threat.

R�lyeh: Weirdness From Beyond! The descendents of an alien race brought to the world of Dominions as their star fell from the sky. Now, they dwell beneath the oceans and plot weird tentacled evil. They are aquatic (amphibious, actually) and the natural enemy of Atlantis. Their Void Gate allows for powerful, albeit risky, summoning of bizarre units from beyond. Beware the Vastness!!!

Mictlan: Blood-thirsty and copper-plated, the Mictlan are unique in that they must practice blood sacrifice in order to spread the dominion of their god. This is somewhat tricky in practice, and I find Mictlan to be one of the most challenging nations to start with. After a certain point, however, their inexpensive units combined with powerful blood magic summonings reach a pivotal point and they become very hard to stop.

Tien Ch�i: Ancient and bureaucratic, the empire of Tien Ch�i has the advantage of organization. Even without being paid for, their automatic conscription of the peasantry will give them a gradual build-up in local defense, leading to a great cost-savings and an infinitely reduced likelihood you�ll get caught by surprise by an attack on an undefended province. They have horse-archers, excellent infantry, and several Celestial Beings that will appear and offer their special powers to fight for the empire.

Machaka: Do you want to play �spider�? Machaka is centered around the God Mountain, in which lies the preserved remains of an enormous spider, now worshiped as a god by the people there. The Sorceresses who lead this cult are powerful and able to assume the shape of giant spiders themselves. The forest around the God Mountain is home to several species of (living) giant spider, which are harnessed and ridden in the place of horses. Even when their riders are slain, the spiders will fight on, making them rather impressive. Unfortunately, Machaka�s basic infantry, although very brave, is also very poorly armored and tend to go down quickly.

[ January 03, 2004, 14:33: Message edited by: Psitticine ]

[Catquiet]

The following is copied from the Dominions 1 manual so it is a bit outdated and three of the races are not mentioned but it will give you a basic idea about the various nations.

24 Nations
24.1 Abysia
Abysia is a hot wasteland inhabited by lava-born
humanoids of unknown origin. Their flesh
radiates heat and they are not harmed by flames.
Abysians are stronger than humans and prefer
heavy armors and weapons. Bows are not used
as they would turn to cinder in the glowing
hands of the Abysians. The war machine of
Abysia also include salamanders, lizardlike
beings composed of the same hot lava flesh as
the Abysians. Abysian warlocks are powerful
blood mages and the priests of the fire cult
practice blood sacrifices. Abysians prefer to live
in very hot places (heat scale +3). They do not
farm or hunt for a living, so they are not at all
affected by the growth scale of a province.
24.1.1 Race
Abysians are fire resistant and radiates heat.
They cannot be affected by fiery spells or
attacks. Enemies close by will become
exhausted by the heat. The fire resistance is very
powerful when you have reached high level
evocations. Abysians prefers to live in hot
50
24 NATIONS 24.3 Atlantis
deserts (heat scale +3) and do not suffer any
detrimental effects from a scale of death. This
enables the Abysian player to get additional
design points when designing the pretender. The
wastelands are also less attractive for enemies to
conquer. A problem for the Abysians are that
most provinces are temperate and not very
profitable at the start of the game. When the
dominion spreads this will change.
24.1.2 Military
The heavy infantry of Abysia is powerful, but
expensive. The greatest strength of the abysian
army is their fire resistance, but the use of fire
magic is limited in the beginning of the game.
Salamanders are very offensive but vulnerable.
Abysia lacks missile weapons but they have assassins
that can be used to take out enemy commanders.
24.1.3 Magic
The mages of Abysia are skilled in fire, blood and
astral magic. The income of 5 fire gems are useful
to gain some well needed money in the early
stages of the game. Blood magic is powerful but
you need a vast staff of slave hunters and patrolling
troops to finance the blood magic.
24.1.4 Priests
The Anathemants are powerful but expensive.
Abysia can use blood sacrifices to enhance priest
levels.
24.2 Arcoscephale
Arcoscephale is an old kingdom. Its glory days
are long since past, but recently the astrologers
who aided past kings in building a mighty empire
have left their sequestration to lead the old kingdom
to world domination once more.
Priestesses with great knowledge of healing
are trained in temples built during the peak of the
old kingdom. The priestesses are able to divine
the presence of enemy troops in provinces that
are located within the God�s dominion. The war
machine of the old kingdom has not changed in
the past centuries. Cumbersome plate hauberks
and long spears are still used and the cavalry is
primitive. Elephants and chariots, unpredictable
but devastating are still popular.
24.2.1 Military
The hoplites of Arcoscephale are powerful
troops, but take a long time to build. Elephants
and chariots on the other hand are quickly levied.
Trampling troops are very destructive, but will
wreak havoc on your own ranks unless handled
with care.
24.2.2 Magic
The Astrologers are skilled in astral magic. The
mystics have some knowledges in most elements
as well as a good understanding of the astral
path. The priestesses have some knowledge
in the path of nature. With their broad base
of magical knowledge Arcoscephale has the
potential of becoming magically wealthy.
Arcoscephale builds labs at half the normal cost.
24.2.3 Priests
The priestesses of Arcoscephale can heal battle
afflictions. All troops in a province will become
healed. The priestesses also gains divine visions
from the land in the dominion of the pretender,
giving military reports in all provinces with a
friendly dominion.
24.3 Atlantis
Atlantis is an underwater nation of strange
beings resembling both fish, frog and human.
They never stop growing and will live for several
hundred years unless killed. The Atlantian
society is organized in a strict hierarchy of size
and age. The larger ones are called shamblers
and do not join armies unless heavily paid. The
oldest and most cunning Atlantians are trained
as priests or mages. Due to difficulties handling
magic the Atlantians capture human children
and train them in magic in the Coral Towers.
The soldiers of Atlantis use spears tipped with
living coral shards and wear armors made of
coral chunks. The coral is poisonous and is
grown solely for war purposes.
51
24 NATIONS 24.5 C�tis
24.3.1 Race
Atlantis is an underwater nation. This fact has
several strategic implications. It protects the nation
from surprise attacks as well as most magic
attacks. Sea provinces are not affected by cold or
warm climates. If you do not intend to leave the
sea it might be a good idea to get yourself a hot
or cold dominion.
24.3.2 Military
The atlantian army consists mostly of spearmen
armed with poisonous spears. These are not very
powerful but the Shamblers will compensate for
this if you have the gold to afford it. The Mother
Guards are truly powerful, and expensive. Atlantians
have no missile units.
24.3.3 Magic
The atlantian mages favors water and to some extent
astral magic.
24.3.4 Priests
The Coral Queens are very powerful priests and
the Mother Guards are sacred troops.
24.4 Caelum
Caelum is a magocracy of winged humanoids
inhabiting high mountain peaks. The caelians
are thin and light to enable flying. They are
unaffected by low temperatures and are able to
survive on tundras. The ruling mages are known
as seraphs, masters of air magic. The seraphs
also craft the strange ice that caelians use instead
of regular metals. The ice tempers with lower
temperatures and the heavy ice armors are more
durable in cold climates than in warmer ones.
The caelians are skilled archers and prefer shoot
and flee tactics, even though they do have some
heavy troops including the huge mammoths.
24.4.1 Race
Most caelians are winged and can fly. Flying is
very useful strategically and tactically. Caelians
are also cold resistant. Cold resistance is almost
as powerful an ability as fire resistance. Caelians
prefers cold climates (cold scale +3) and the
caelian player should increase the scale of cold
when designing their pretender. The problem of
initially temperate provinces are the same as for
Abysia.
24.4.2 Military
Flying units. Some of the caelian units carry Ice
Armors that tempers with cold climate. These
armors may protect more than full plate armors
while weighing less than a chain mail in the cold
tundras. Mammoths are even more powerful than
Elephants. They have thicker hides and are not as
easily routed, but they may still rout and wreak
havoc in the same way as normal Elephants.
24.4.3 Magic
The mages of Caelum are both powerful and inexpensive.
They prefer the elements of air and
water.
24.4.4 Priests
The Seraphines of Caelum are of average power,
but they are stealthy. This enables them to enter
and preach in your enemies lands.
24.5 C�tis
C�tis is a sacral kingdom of ancient origins inhabited
by lizardlike humanoids. They are herbivores
but have enslaved a race of carnivorous lizardmen
who serve as soldiers and workers. The c�tissians
are somewhat slow but have thick hides that protect
them from cuts and bruises. At the top of the
society is the king, the highest priest of C�tis. Under
the king are the high priests with their sacred
serpents and the enigmatic sauromancers, great
mages of death and rebirth.
24.5.1 Race
C�tissians have thick hides that gives them additional
protection. They are cold blooded and suffers
from extra fatigue when fighting in cold climates.
C�tissians prefers warm lands (heat scale
+1).
52
24 NATIONS 24.6 Ermor
24.5.2 Military
The c�tissian army is made up of infantry. Predatory
slave warriors are a powerful but vulnerable
force. The Sacred Serpents are important if you
do not wish your soldiers to rout (the lizards are
cowardly). Poison Slingers are a very destructive
unit, to friend and foe. Use them wisely and you
may gain much.
24.5.3 Magic
The mages of C�tis are powerful necromancers.
The Empoisoner is an assassin mage. Somewhat
expensive, but potentially very deadly.
24.5.4 Priest
The Lizard King is a powerful priest as well as an
exceptional leader.
24.6 Ermor
Ermor was a great empire that conquered most
of the known world. The realm crumbled as the
great mages of the empire studied dark magic
under the sauromancers of C�tis. Unaware of
the dangers of dark sorcery, unholy rites were
performed in the capital Eldregate. The empire
was destroyed in one cataclysmic event that
blackened the sun, turned the lands to ashes and
reanimated its inhabitants as walking dead. Now
Ermor is a cursed land with undead legions
marching forth to reconquer a world once theirs.
Ermor is very different from the other nations.
Dead soldiers awake in their graves and the living
turn to ghouls in Ermor. If the ermorian dominion
is strong Ermor receives vast number of
troops. If the dominion of the ashen empire is
weak they might find themselves without troops
after one single battle. The undead are very vulnerable
to banishment and this prayer is almost
the only weapon able to defeat the nation.
24.6.1 Race
The undead have several strengths and some
weaknesses. If you want to play Ermor you must
be aware of those.
24.6.2 Mindlessness
Most of the ermorian armies are made up
of longdead, mindless skeletal warriors. The
mindless are never affected by morale and will
not break in battle. On the other hand they will
fall apart if left without commanders on the
battle field. Keep several commanders protected
at the rear and your army will never break. If
your commanders advance they might be killed
and your whole army will dissolve.
24.6.3 Maintainance and Supplies
Your troops don�t need maintenance. This might
make you wealthy. Use the money on temples,
forts, mercenaries, defense or archers. The undead
do not eat and do not need supplies. They
cannot starve and can hold a fortress for all eternity.
24.6.4 Cold Resistance
Most undead are cold resistant. This is useful if
you use battle spells with chill effects on large
areas.
24.6.5 Poor Amphibians
Some undead are able to enter the sea. This is
very useful if there are no aquatic pretenders.
24.6.6 Stealth
Some undead are able to hide in enemy
provinces.
24.6.7 Immortality
Some undead are immortal.
24.6.8 Military
Ermor�s army is composed of hordes weak
undead beings. Hidden within the ranks of the
shambling dead are powerful undead beings
summoned by vile magics. The Wailing Ladies,
Lictors and Knights of the Unholy Sepulchre are
horrible opponents. They usually survives the
divine wrath of banishment long enough to reach
the enemies and slay the priests.
53
24 NATIONS 24.7 Jotunheim
24.6.9 Magic
Ermor is different from the other nations and the
needs and uses for spells are likewise different.
Ermor have knowledge of several spells only
available to them. Those spells are summoning
rituals of the unique ermorian undead. Most of
Ermor�s magic gems will be used in those spells.
HINT: The Black Laurel of Ermor is a useful
item that allows the wearer to increase the
amounts of Lictors created with each casting Revive
Lictor.
24.6.10 The Unholy Sepulchre and World
Richness
The reanimation rate of Ermor�s dead is dependent
on the dominion. If the world richness is
set to a value higher then poor Ermor will still
get the same amount of undead minions. However,
the magic richness of the Unholy Sepulchre
is increased by the same multiplier as the worlds
resources (x1, x2, or x3). This means that Ermor
initially has access to vast magical powers usable
to revive priests able to reanimate larger numbers
of mindless undead.
WARNING: If all mages in Ermor are slain
it is impossible to get a new one as all are summoned
and none bought for money. Unless, of
course, you can find a necromancer willing to do
the work for you.
24.6.11 Dominion
The dominion of Ermor is very powerful. With it
comes undead armies but it is also detrimental to
all life. The crops turn to ashes and the sky turns
grey. Only the undead trod the lifeless soil of the
ashen empire.
Production and maintenance of living troops
will probably be concentrated to the border
provinces unless you have chosen a rather low
dominion strength.
ADVICE: Get yourself a very high dominion
value to get huge hordes of undead.
24.6.12 Priests
The priests of Ermor do not preach. Instead they
perform the unholy practice of reanimation. The
reanimation rate is dependent on the level of the
unholy priest.
24.7 Jotunheim
Jotunheim is a land of bitter winters and cool
summers. It is the home of giants and goblins.
The giants of Jotun are immensely strong and
resilient. They are born in the cold and do not
suffer from cold climate. Jotunheim is ruled by
several jarls who rarely join forces. Living apart
from the giants are the wolf riders. A tribal
people called goblins or vaettir. They live in the
woods of Jotun and rarely venture outside. Wolf
riders do join the armies of Jotunheim when
the Norns wants them to. The Norns are dark
cowled women of unknown origin. They have
aided the giants with divination, curses and
blessings and the wolf riders serve them loyally.
24.7.1 Race
The size of the giants can be a problem both at
the table and in the battle. They need a lot of food
and have problems when defending against several
smaller enemies. They are cold resistant and
prefers cold lands (cold scale +2) Initially when
all provinces are temperate this can be a slight
problem.
24.7.2 Military
Giant infantry is powerful but expensive. Their
size is sometimes a problem. They are better
equipped at slaying great beasts than fighting
small scurrying humans. The vaettir are a good
complement and can pass between the legs of
the giants. The vaettir are stealthy.
24.7.3 Magic
The Norns of the IronWood are skilled at sorcery
in all its forms. The Jotun Skrattis are skilled in
blood and water magic.
24.7.4 Priests
The priests of Jotun are of average power. The
Woodsmen are sacred troops.
54
24 NATIONS 24.10 Pangaea
24.8 Man
The kingdom of Man is a feudal kingdom. The
human inhabitants conquered the land from a
people of tall and magically powerful beings
known as the Tuatha. When the Tuatha was
destroyed their greatest treasure was found,
Avalon. In this magical forest their magic was
hidden. The witches of Man entered the forest,
learned the old lore and helped Man to grow in
power and influence. The infantry of Man is
limited and lacks heavy troops. The crack unit
of the regular army is composed of powerful
knights and skillful longbowmen. The witches
trains their own special troops, the wardens and
knights of Avalon. These troops are very skilled
and they are also magically enchanted by the
witches.
24.8.1 Military
The longbows of Man are renowned. The
Knights and special troops of Avalon are also to
be feared. The Wardens of Avalon are stealthy
and the Knights of Avalon can heal battle
afflictions if they should get any.
24.8.2 Magic
The witches of Avalon specialize in Nature and
Air magic. They have access to the Spell Songs
of Man.
24.8.3 Priests
The Monks of Man are weak priests but they are
stealthy. The temples of man (monasteries) are
easy to build and cost only half the normal price.
The Wardens of Avalon are sacred troops.
24.9 Marignon
Marignon is a feudal theocracy. The inquisitors
control all aspects of the country including
warfare. The feudal lords pay tithes and tax
peasants, but all political decisions are made by
the church. Marignon rose out of the ashes of
Ermor and has succeeded in holding the shadow
of the fallen empire at bay through religious zeal
and austerity. The widespread Fanaticism in
Marignon has made wonders for their survival
this far. The heavy infantry of Marignon are
armed with large weapons such as great swords
and halberds. All carry the bright red and orange
livery typical for Marignon. The inquisitors of
Marignon are trained in the House of Just Fires
together with witch hunters. The witch hunters
are mage priests of solar magic.
24.9.1 Military
Marignon uses heavy infantry, crossbows and
holy knights. Most of their troops are expensive
in resources.
24.9.2 Magic
The Grand Masters and Witch Hunters specialize
in fire and astral magic. The basic income of
4 fire gems can be useful initially to get a good
economy.
24.9.3 Priests
The priests of Marignon are powerful. Inquisitors
and High inquisitors receive a bonus when
trying to eliminate enemy dominions within the
Kingdom. The friars are not powerful but able to
sneak and preach within enemy provinces. The
Knights of the Chalice are sacred troops.
24.10 Pangaea
Pangaea is a woodland nation inhabited by wild
beings connected with nature. Halfmen such as
satyrs, centaurs and minotaurs serve the lords of
the sacred groves deep in the forests. In ancient
times the woods covered much of the world but
that has changed. Man is no longer beast and animals
are no longer wild. The world of the wild
is disappearing. Centaurs have developed civilized
societies and donned armors. The Panii,
guardians of the groves, have decided that it is
time to act.
24.10.1 Race
The units of Pangaea can heal even the most serious
battle afflictions.
55
24 NATIONS 24.12 R�lyeh
24.10.2 Military
The light satyr infantry is stealthy. The hoplites
are skilled and braver than their fellows and the
Minotaur infantry is truly fearsome. A singleWar
Minotaur gone berserk may win a battle by himself.
Centaur Cataphracts and Centaur Archers
are large and durable. They can stand up to most
knights.
24.10.3 Magic
The Panii are very expensive but their size keeps
them alive unless singled out on the battle field.
Each Pan also summons maenads.
24.10.4 Priests
The Dryads of Pangaea have average priestly
powers. They are stealthy and can preach in
enemy territories.
24.11 Pythium
The emerald empire of Pythium is the remnant
of the great empire of Ermor. As dark arts
was practiced in the heart of the empire the
theurgs of Pythia was warned by the stars.
They led Pythia away from the falling empire
and formed an imperial theocracy under their
wise rule. But this was not enough. As Ermor
crumbled the provinces rebelled and broke from
their old masters. The emperor of Pythium could
not reclaim the rebelling lands and the power of
Pythium has diminished over the years.
The war machine of Pythium is based on
the old legionaire army of Ermor but some
changes has been made. The lack of horses is
compensated for with serpents. The hydras
of the Pythian bile marsh, normally used in
gladiator games, are trained and used in battles
by special tamers. However the superior road
building and administration of the fallen empire
has survived.
24.11.1 Race
Road building allows the Pythian armies to move
three provinces within the empire.
24.11.2 Military
Legionaires with tower shields. Serpent
Cataphracts are nearly as powerful as knights
and when the rider dies the serpents will
continue fighting. Gladiators are very quickly
raised troops but they leave after one battle. One
of the most dangerous of the Pythian units is the
fearsome hydra. Regenerating and breathing
noxious fumes it is a danger to friends as well as
foe. Pythium employs assassins.
24.11.3 Magic
The Theurgs of Pythium are the most powerful
of all mages. They are skilled in astral, air and
water magic. To enhance their powers they train
Communicants that increases the magical might
of nearby Theurgs joining the communion.
24.11.4 Priests
The Arch Theurgs are powerful priests. Battle
Vestals are sacred troops, but rather weak.
24.12 R�lyeh
Once there was a distant star inhabited by a great
race of strange and unimaginable beings. But
a catastrophe caused the star to leave its place
in the heavens and a shard of it fell through the
spheres and down upon the world. A remnant of
the great race survived under the sea where the
star crashed. They multiplied and enslaved a race
of fishlike humanoids by sheer strength of mind.
R�lyeh, the sunken city, is a mind defying
place built under the sea with an architecture
unlike any known to man. In the halls of R�lyeh
the starspawns, the great ones who survived the
fall, plan the reemergence of the great race.
The starspawns are powerful mages with great
knowledge of distant stars. All of the great race
are powerful mindcrafters.
24.12.1 Race
R�lyeh is an underwater nation. This fact has several
strategic implications. It protects the nation
from surprise attacks as well as most magic attacks.
Sea provinces are not affected by cold or
warm climates. If you do not intend to leave the
56
24 NATIONS 24.14 Vanheim
sea it might be a good idea to get yourself a hot
or cold dominion.
24.12.2 Military
Atlantian slaves compose the bulk of the armies
of R�lyeh, but the Illithids are the most fearsome
weapon at R�lyeh�s disposal. The mind bLast is
fearfully effective when several Illithids work together.
The mind bLast can be used under the sea.
The Crab Hybrids are heavy troops but they are
unable to leave the sea.
24.12.3 Magic
The Starspawns of R�lyeh use astral and some
water magic. The Starchilds are assassin mages
with some limited skills in astral magic.
24.12.4 Priests
The Starspawns are priests of average power, but
they are expensive.
24.13 Ulm
Ulm is a young kingdom risen from the ashes of
the fallen empire of Ermor. Where Marignon relied
on religion to build a kingdom, Ulm relied
on steel. The mines of Ulm are famous for their
riches and the smiths of Ulm work the iron into
black steel armors covering the knights and infantry
of Ulm. The people of Ulm are heavily
built by human standards. The infantry uses full
chain or plate armors made of black steel. The
feared Black Knights of Ulm are the most heavily
armored troops known to man. The leaders
of Ulm have never approved of magic and only
the master smiths are allowed to use magic. The
smiths are used to work under conditions that are
magically unfavorable and are not adversely affected
by provinces that have a strong drain dominion.
The smiths craft armors and weapons for
lords and kings but the strength of steel is preferred
to magic. Even religion is of secondary
importance in Ulm.
24.13.1 Race
The inhabitants of Ulm are stocky and have additional
hit points. They have lower magic resistance
than ordinary humans.
24.13.2 Land
Ulm is rich in resources.
24.13.3 Military
The heavy infantry of Ulm is the heaviest human
infantry there is. The fearsome Black Knights
and several infantry units don the special black
steel full plate armors crafted by the Master
Smiths of Ulm. Ulm uses arbalests as missile
weapons.
24.13.4 Magic
The Master Smiths use earth and fire magic.
They excel at magic item forging and have
reduced magic costs when forging items. The
Master Smiths are not affected by a drain scale.
24.13.5 Priests
The priests of Ulm are weak.
24.14 Vanheim
Vanheim is a land of misty moors and forests.
Humans compose most of the population but the
rulers of the land are a tall and innately magical
race known as vanir. The vanir once fought
the giants of Jotunheim but with the coming of
man they turned their attentions elsewhere. Now
only a precious few of the vanir are left and humans
are no longer slaves. Humans compose the
basic infantry units of Vanheim. The vanir have
blessed some loyal humans with superior fighting
skills and the ability to enter a state of wild rage
or wolven shape. The vanir are masters of illusions
and can hide their true numbers from prying
eyes. They fight mounted on exceptionally
fast horses. Female vanir have the ability to fly.
This is a gift from a dead god who used them as
messengers of death under the name of valkyries.
During these days blood was sacrificed. The old
ways have not been used in ages, but still the oldest
of the vanir remember how to sate the nature
with blood. The vanir are very skilled sailors and
the vanherses and vanjarls can sail on the oceans.
57
26 HINTS AND ADVICES 25.1 Demo Limitations
24.14.1 Race
The Vanir (not human commanders) are masters
of ocean sailing and can cross oceans with their
armies. The Valkyries are flying troops, but they
lack flying commanders to lead them strategically
unless you make yourself a pair of winged boots.
The population of Vanheim prefers cold climates
(cold scale +1).
24.14.2 Military
The human troops are well equipped but it is the
Einheres (berserks) and Skinshifters that make
the Vanheim army fearsome. Einheres are very
offensive with their berserk abilities and two
weapons, but they are expensive. Skinshifters
are powerful and regenerates, but they have
little armor. The Vanir are very expensive and
powerful. Their illusory mirror images and great
defense skills make them almost impossible to
hit. Valkyries are nearly as powerful and can
fly. Vanir and Valkyries are stealthy. The Vanir
are masters of illusions and are undetectable to
scouts.
24.14.3 Magic
The Dwarven Smiths are skilled in the path of
earth. The vanir use air and some blood magic.
24.14.4 Priests
The Vanjarls are stealthy priests of average
power. The Vanir are able to use blood sacrifices
to increase the dominion of their God. All Vanir
are sacred troops