28/10/07: At long last the mod is released! Hurrah! I'm calling this version v0.8, since it's essentially finished, but still missing some heroes and presumably there will be some mistakes. I also want to improve compatibility with other mods - at present it clashes at least with Vaettiheim. I hope you all enjoy it, and please leave comments!
29/10/07: Released v0.81 which corrects bugs with summoning commanders, makes thematic vanilla pretenders available, and makes the priests and mages significantly cheaper.
30/10/07: Uploaded v0.82. Adds two national pretenders and two more heroes. Toughens up chariots by giving them natural protection in line with all other chariots in the game.
12/02/08: Extremely minor update. Fixed the Servant of Set's weapon, and added the Baphomet as a national pretender.
26/09/08: A large number of fixes, predominantly to make the national summons better value. See
here for details.
08/03/09: v1.00! A bold version number following a fairly large number of changes. For more details see
here. No new units, I'm afraid.
09/03/09: v1.01. A couple of small fixes and balance tweaks.
09/03/09 again(!): v1.02. A number of small changes to the Ushabti and Ushabti avatars.
10/03/09: v1.03! Minor fixes, mostly toning down the Immortals slightly.
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This is a nation mod adding the Tomb Kings, an Egyptian-themed nation of undead, to the Middle Age. The nation is inspired by the Warhammer Tomb Kings nation, although it is only very loosely based on it (most of the units are new).
Troops: Undead infantry, cavalry and chariots. Very light armour but highly mobile.
Commanders: Separate priests and battle mages, plus very powerful Tomb Kings.
Magic: Mainly death and fire, with some air, earth and astral.
Strengths:
- Powerful national priest spells to buff troops
- Strong national battle mages
- A wide variety (8!) of strong national summons, many of which are not undead, and also including immortal sacreds
- Exceptional MR on all troops limits banishment troubles
- Troops which never rout or tire
- Priests can awaken limited numbers of troops for no cost
Weaknesses:
- Undead counters can make your life a misery
- Battle mages (sorcerors) are expensive
- Difficult decisions in recruiting priests or sorcerors
- Limited magical diversity without boosters
- Undead counters really can make your life a misery!
Strategy hints:
- A Tomb Kings army with no priests is weak and overpriced. The lack of armour on your troops makes them very vulnerable. Make sure to include a number of priests with every army to keep your troops buffed. If you're able to get a large proportion of your troops fully buffed they will be very powerful.
- Recruit a few acolytes for every army. They will concentrate on keeping your troops healed in battle.
- Research Evo-2 quickly - Sulphur Haze is a powerful spell and works well with your troops' poison immunity.
- Recruit as many Tomb Kings as you can afford.
- Experiment with using the Tomb Princes and even Ancient Champions as thugs. They can be quite effective.
- If a Tomb King is killed he will lose much of his magic, but be reborn in an immortal form. An immortal Tomb King leading a legion of summoned Immortals could be a serious (though costly) thorn in an enemy's side.
- Both bless and non-bless strategies seem to work quite well. You have a nice variety of sacred troops and many of the national summons are sacred, so a good bless can be very helpful. Any of E9, W9, F9 and D9 seem useful to me.
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This is the full version of the nation description, which is considerably cut-down in-game:
The lands of Nehekhara were once vast and fertile, and the many kingdoms of Nehekhara were powerful for thousands of years. The priesthood was a powerful force in the kingdoms, and worshipped a pantheon of gods. The Nehekharans were obsessed with death, and over time the priesthood delved into the secrets of the arcane to try to gain some insight into the mysteries of death and what followed.
Finally the priests made a grand prophecy: They foresaw the slow decline of Nehekhara; gradually the great rivers of the land would dry up, crops would wither, animals would die, until eventually all that was left was a great lifeless desert. However, to the priesthood the second part of the prophecy was even more important. In the far future, after many millennia, they foresaw the rising of a new god, and the land being swept by a great wave of benevolent magic. The land would become a paradise, and the dead, if properly preserved, would arise to live anew.
And so the priesthood devoted itself to preparations, and he newly formed order of Tomb Priests oversaw the construction of vast tombs in which the worthy would be buried and preserved for the long millenia until the awakening. Soldiers, nobility, wizards and kings were placed in the tombs, and legions of priests and acolytes performed months-long incantations to preserve their bodies and protect their souls.
The priests themselves mastered a form of immortality - while their bodies gradually deteriorated until they were little more than dried husks, they kept themselves alive by powerful death magics. Their existence was not a pleasant one, but it was necessary to oversee the preparations.
Gradually the lands of Nehekhara dried up. One by one the cities had to be abandoned as they could not be sustained. Eventually the priests and the last of the nobility retreated to the tombs, and the few remaining peasants were left to their fate. For thousands of years no living thing stirred within Nehekhara, save the occasional foolhardy explorer.
Then, catastrophe occurred. As Ermor fell, vast malevolent energies swept the world. Many lands suffered, but it was in Nehekhara that the effects were most awful. The foul magics of Ermor took hold and perverted the enchantments on the sleeping dead. The mortal forms of the dead could now never be regained, and the Nehekharans awoke as undead, the pleasures of the world lost to their skeletal forms.
Now a new God has arisen to lead the tragic armies of Nehekhara. They feel no hatred for the living, but suffer from a terrible bitterness about what has been lost. Perhaps by rebuilding their once mighty kingdoms they can regain some of their lost glory, and perhaps find a purpose for their existences. And maybe they can find Ermor, and exact vengeance.
Nation - Tomb Kings - v1.03 released (March 2009)!
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