Wu-shan, Holmgard and Padmassa

[DrPraetorious]

This is a not-so-brief description of the three nations I'm working on, along with (just for the hell of it) the flavor text for Padmassa's EA national spells. The coding is mostly done but I'm waiting for another patch version and on artwork - and of course there are a lot of balance issues yet to be worked out.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
* -> capital only.

Padmassa
(EA) The Black Coven
B4 D4 S2 E2 W1
Conjurer (BD), Circle Master (BBDD), High Circle Master* (BBDD,3.7 randoms), Witch (BE, 0.7 randoms, douse bonus), Hag* (BDE, 1.7 randoms, forge bonus), Mad Priest (H).
see below for national spell flavor text.
Recruit brainwashed children with slave-collars*, cruel and cowardly mercenaries (mostly mounted on Aurochs) and the Faceless*/Things Once Men*.
Modeled on the ancient Assyrians, plus Padmassa (the villains from the Bazil Broketail books), and also the villains from The Dark Crystal, they kill everybody and then pile their skulls in huge heaps. Their religion, such as it is, centers around blood-sacrifices to the Things that Lurk beyond the Door at Ararat (Thomas Harlan pwns u,) and to their Black Crystal (which drains souls.)

(MA) Padmassa, Power of Purity
F3 S3 W2 D1 A1 E1
Magi (FWS), High Magi (HFFWSS), Arch Magi* (HHFFWSS,1.7 randoms), Guardian of Pure Fires* (HHHF, 0.7 randoms), Guardian of Pure Waters* (HW, 0.7 randoms).
Inherit Caelum and Abyssian national summons, plus I'll add some more from Persian mythology.
Recruit abyssians, mounted on Aurochs. Sacred troops are either Immortal (along with their steeds), or flying. You can also recruit some peasants.
Noble caste is descended from Abyssians and Caelumites sent to keep watch over the Door - mostly look like Abyssians, winged children are stillborn but can be saved by immersion in the purifying waters.

(LA) Padmassa, Work in Progress
They'll be arabs, but I'm still bouncing ideas.
Definitely has death magic, definitely has light cavalry, definitely has undead aurochs (since they've been killed off.)

(EA) Wu-Shan, Snake Crane and Dragon
F2 W2 N3 E2 A2
Geomancer (WEN, 1.7 randoms, prevents bad events), Ascetic (AFN, 1.7 randoms, research bonus), color-coded monk thugs (HH or HHH).
See below for a national summon (deity only). Has combat summons that produce more monks in combat.
Color-coded sacred monks can be produced in all castles. Non-sacred, cheaper versions are also available, as are the weaker T'ien Ch'i style infantry.
A nation of enlightened monks

(LA) Wu-Shan, The Black Lotus
B2 A1 E1 F1 W1 N1
Eunuch Sorcerer (BB,1.1 randoms,douse bonus), Eunuch Master of the Five Elements (BAEFWN, 0.7 randoms).
LOTS of national summons, both for blood slaves and for every type of national gem. Very few are sacred, however.
Military is mostly identical to ME T'ien Ch'i, but lacks the sacred princes. You also get the monks from EA Wu Shan, but now they are capital only.
When the survivors of the royal family of T'ien Ch'i fled to the south, their eunuch servants seized power! Now they have corrupted the magic of the five elements with blood sacrifice.

(EA) Holmgard, Storm in the North
(LA) Holmgard, Republic of the Ice Queens
A nation entirely of goblins. Still being balanced and having units swapped in between the two eras.
Holmgard is the nordic name for the Russian city of Novgorod. So, this is my effort to introduce a lot of russian folklore.
You get sacred iceclad goblins mounted on winter wolves. To my chagrin, it looks like cheap, sacred, ethereal heavy cavalry are unbalanced! Who knew?
You get cossacks, who are just like wolf riders, but they're wearing frickin' armor. Their low-cost (especially only paying size 1 resources) makes up for their substandard profile.
You get Vaetti hags, and you also get Baba, who are more powerful Vaetti hags that get more picks.
In the LA, Baba only appear as heroes, but you get -
Theurgs (who are goblins), since the goblins of Holmgard have adopted the religion of the spheres,
A professional military, possibly including uniformed combat-mage goblins?
Various merchant-type heroes who are spies of one kind or another.

---

Here's some flavor text. Some of these spells don't really work in the current patch.

#name "Breed Buck-Imps"
#descr "The Dread Lords of Padmassa have refined the art of Cross-breeding to a science, and do not leave it to chance. They are known for their practice of inseminating blood-slaves with seed derived from their vanquished supernatural enemies. Buck-imps are a malformed crossbreed of humans and elven races such as the Van or Tuatha. They are vicious, stupid creatures but skilled in battle. A typical blood slave bears twins or triplets, and a skilled mage ensures that more slaves survive to term. Buck-imps arm themselves with weapons forged from their mother's butchered carcasses."
#descr "Buck-Imps are a semi-intelligent crossbreed of humans and one or another elven race - only blood slaves can bear them and the birth is always lethal. They entirely lack the magical abilities of their elven parents, but they grow to maturity in a matter of weeks and are posessed of superhuman strength and ferocity. The buck-imps make up the bulk of the dark armies of Padmassa."

#descr "A somewhat more intelligent breed of imp, able to forge terrible banefire bows from their mother's carcasses. They fire these bows from behind the cover of great shields. Although they are more intelligent and loyal than conventional imps, they require a certain amount of training, and thus cannot be bred in the same numbers."

#name "Breed Buck-Trolls"
#descr "The Dread Lords of Padmassa have refined the art of Cross-breeding to a science, and do not leave it to chance. Rather than inseminating blood-slaves directly, their blood is used to enhance the fertility of female aurochs, who are then inseminated using the seed of Kappa. The aurochs literally burst open, giving birth to Buck-Trolls. Buck-Trolls are immensely stupid and are given easy to use weaponry and non-confining armor."
#descr "Buck-Trolls are dim-witted aquatic beings of great strength and ferocity. They are given simple weapons and used as shock troops."

#name "Hatch Draconoids"
#descr "Innocent blood is used to quicken the fossilized eggs of a long-extinct race of the telepathic, dragon-like beings who first opened the Door at Ararat. The vile power of the magic involved twists them into vicious humanoids. More powerful blood mages can awaken more of these beings. The eggs of this pre-human race have great significance to the Padmassan blood and death cult, and Draconoids are sacred to them."

#name "Forge Dhoom"
#descr "In this rite, a stone monolith is infused with the malign intellect of ritually slain murderers and torturers. The resultant being is telepathically immensely powerful, and sheer terror reduces unrest in any province where it is located. The dhoom is immobile, but magically powerful enough to teleport itself, if the spell is known."
#descr "A stone infused with a malign intellect and vast telepathic powers. It's mere presence reduces unrest out of sheer terror."

#name "Befoul Priest"
#descr "A captured holy man is tortured to the brink of death and then surrounded with spilled innocent blood on each of the eight compass points. Thus shielded from good influences, he is posessed by a blasphemous spirit, who uses his priestly vessel to spread vile teachings."
#descr "A priest posessed by a vile and deceitful entity of the underworld. He has a cruel nature and vile appetites."

#name "Nietzschesque Sappho-Cannibalism"
#descr "Divine beings from a higher sphere are forced to possess thirteen and six score blood slaves, who are confined together in a small chamber. The second component of the rite drives the posessed blood slaves into a cannibalistic frenzy. As blood slaves butcher and eat one another, the beings from beyond consume one another's essence and also grow corrupt from the power of the spilled innocent blood. The surviving blood slave emerges triumphant; the engorged power of a celestial being combined with her own false innocence make her a powerful undead priestess and mage."
#descr "A posessed former blood-slave, the sole survivor of a cannibalistic frenzy. The celestial being with whom she has been fused has been utterly corrupted, but retains holy powers and magic of a celestial nature. She still hungers for human flesh."

#name "Summon Asi"
#descr "The blood of many innocents is spilled to resurrect one of the Asi, godlike three-headed dragons devoted to the destruction of all that is good."
#name "Asi"
#descr "The Asi are the three-headed dragons of death and darkness - each was originally tasked with corrupting a different element of the material world. Since they have been banished from the world by a previous pantokrator, they require human mages to serve as hosts. They adopt this human form in order to work magic, but like other dragons they are terrible in combat in their dragon form."

#name "The Will to Power"
#descr "The pursuit of pure power is the hallmark of the lords of Padmassa. The shedding of much innocent blood can transform the caster into a magical being, and enhance his sorcerous power."
#name "Mezzomaster"
#descr "The Mezzomaster is a High Circle master who has absorbed enough power from the Black Crystal to ascend and become a magical being. They are sorcerers of immense power."

#name "The Will to Power"
#descr "The pursuit of pure power is the hallmark of the lords of Padmassa. Having already murdered countless innocents, it is nothing for an aspiring dread lord to slaughter 101 more, allowing him to achieve immortality, and magnifying his power in all paths of magic."
#name "Dread Master"
#descr "The Dread Master is a High Circle master who has absorbed enough power from the Black Crystal to ascend and become a magical being - and immortal, to boot. They are sorcerers of awe-inspiring power."

#name "Thrall Child"
#descr "These wretched children have their humanity fed to the unspeakable beings beyond the Door, leaving them broken in body and spirit. By fitting them with Slave Collars forged by the Hags of Ararat, they can be driven into battle in front of the armies of padmassa. They are mindless beings who will dissolve, whimpering, without leadership. Mount Ararat generates a practically unlimited number of such broken children, but the collars needed to use them in battle are in short supply."

#descr "Only the most desperate and despicable serve the Dark God of Padmassa willingly. This cruel mercenary has been kitted out in heavy armor and mounted on a mighty Auroch, but he remains cowardly."

#descr "On occasion, a man devoured by the Black Crystal retains his skills and intellect. Lacking any sort of human feeling, these once-men are used both as scouts and as elite shock troops by the masters of Padmassa. On the one hand, their soul-less nature clouds the minds of their enemies, making them difficult to remember or detect; on the other, their hideous eyeless faces unman all but the bravest of warriors. They ride firce Aurochs in battle."

#name "Leathery-winged avian"
#descr "A true-breeding hybrid of a lizard and a bat, with limited telepathic capability. The dark masters of padmassa use these vile creatures as scouts and spies."

#descr "The Agent was once a virtuous individual of great skill and personal courage. The Black Crystal has taken his soul, but he retains his competence, and leads the Things Once Men. He also serves his masters as a spy and assassin, riding by night on a fierce Auroch."

#descr "The High Circle master has begun the process of empowering himself by consuming the souls drawn by the power of the Black Crystal. These souls enable the High Circle Master to command the terrible beings found on the other side of the Door of Ararat. The New God has won their loyalty with the promise of Immortality - the High Circle Master is willing to do anything to achieve this goal! He is evil all the time! He does not take holidays or weekends off!"

#descr "The promise of power lures unscrupulous wise women into the service of Padmassa. Their healing skills are twisted to the service of the terrible New God, and they are exceptionally skilled at gathering blood slaves to be used as brood mares for the armies of buck-imps. Once skilled midwives, these witches turn their skills to ensuring that their charges survive only long enough to birth warriors of Padmassa. Their administrative duties give them the experience needed to lead troops of various kinds."

#descr "These witches have given themselves over as hosts for unspeakable evils from beyond the Door. Deprived of their humanity and cloaked in vile vapors, these broken beings toil away in the bowels of mount Ararat, forging weapons for the dark forces of Padmassa."

#descr "When a holy man is fed to the Black Crystal, he sometimes continues in a mockery of the religious services he performed in life. Originally in a grim act of humor, the High Circle Masters would attend and participate in these debased rites, in all appearances of seriousness and piety. Now, they have decreed that these unwholesome rituals are for the honor and glory of the new God."

#descr "The great hag is a witch who has conquered and dominated the unnatural being with which she shares her consciousness and body. They are mighty sorceresses and fierce warriors, cloaked in the icy cold from beyond the spheres."

and I've got some more (based on monsters from the Dark Crystal, for example) but I'm still working on those.

[HoneyBadger]

This sounds really excellent, Dr Praetorious-especially since I'm a big fan of the Dark Crystal. I look forward to playing with these Nations.

[Potatoman]

Looks like some Eaters of the Lotus action with MA Wu-Shan! I love the idea, Chinese style Wuxia epics deserve a place in Dominions.

[HoneyBadger]

I have a guilty desire to see a mod based (atleast a little bit) on Big Trouble In Little China

[DrPraetorious]

No, not oil! The black blood of the earth!

It takes a misc slot, it gives you +15 hit points, +5 strength, +2 attack and defense, and +10 morale.

It costs EEEEES and construction 6.

And, of course, late era wu-shan can summon "storm warriors", who have those cool straw peasant hats and are armed with lightning fists..... or, if we get the ability to add unique summons of our own, there would be three of them - thunder, lightning and rain.

[HoneyBadger]

"These Chinese symbols, they're numbers, counting backwards." "Not backwards...downwards!"

"I am the past that haunts you, Lo-Pan!"
wu-shan sorcerors have extremely long life-spans

How about a 6 demon bag?
"it's full of wind, fire...all that stuff"

"I don't wanna have to kill you, tough guy."
How about a unit that can change shape-from an ordinary human into an enormous trampler, when they're badly injured, like Rain when he blows up?

"Us Chinese have a lot of hells."
Blood summons-demon from the hell of being cut to pieces, demon from the hell of the upside-down sinners, demon from the hell of being boiled alive.

And ofcourse, Pretender type: Chin'Dai, god of the east!

[HoneyBadger]

Ok, upon researching a bit, I've discovered that the actual "Chinese Hells" mentioned in the movie are
as follows:

The Hell of Being Cut to Pieces
The Hell of Boiling Oil
The Hell of the Upside Down Sinners
The Hell of the Vast Cold (in deleted scene)
The Hell Where People are Skinned Alive
The Hell of the Oily Dragon

...Indeed!

[DrPraetorious]

Those are good, I was going to go the Shadowfist route and have -

Demon of Corrupted Land (nature)
Demon of Corrupted Mountains (earth)
Demon of Corrupted Thunder (air)
Demon of Corrupted Winds (air)
Demon of Corrupted Waters (water)
Demon of Corrupted Fires (fire)

plus...
Demon of Corrupted Marsh (death)
Demon of Corrupted Heaven (astral)

which you'd need to take blood/X on your god in order to summon. The Demon of Corrupted Heaven is furthermore sacred.

But, hey - more demons = more fun.

The 6 demon bag should probably be unique, and it should probably cast no less than six elemental damaging spells?

Possibly a bonus to all elemental magic, instead. We'll see what item modding lets us do, when it comes out.

[HoneyBadger]

I hope item-modding comes out soon, that's going to be HUGE.

DrPraetorious, as to your Hells being elemental in nature, that's perfectly fine, but...you might want to consider more interesting names for them, like:

"Demon of Corrupted Wisconsin"
"Demon of Corrupted Chocolate Cherry Bontons"
"Demon of Corrupted Ford Escalade"
"Demon of Corrupted Wu-Tang Clan"
and "Demon of Corrupted 2000 Florida Presidential Ballot-Count"

(Folks, let's see if the good Dr. can figure out my point )

[Shovah32]

This sounds very nice indeed, its good to know people are putting this ammount of work into mods for us.