Mod: EA Gondolin, The War of the Jewels (incomplete)

[Tolkien]

Well, this'll be my first time trying to mod something. I'm also known to be a very lazy person who usually finishes these things half-way though and forgets about it, so by all means, pester me on a weekly basis for this. Right now, this is in the conceptual design period.

Anyway, I've been thinking about modding together a nation based on Gondolin, the Hidden City. I'll be using what I can from The Fall of Gondolin and Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin, the former giving the only complete description of the Twelve Houses of Gondolin and their armaments and characters and their Lords.

What to expect? Well, it'll be a nation very similar to MA Ulm I suppose. Well, not really. But in terms of unit lineup. Great diversity of heavily armored/armed infantry (12 total, 9 recruitable everywhere, 1 cap only, 2 spawnable only), yet unlike Ulm, they won't all be useless and they'll all have some sort of niche use! I'm still working on how, but yes. But besides loads of infantry, they'll also be sacred, capital-only Eagles ready for recruitin', and why not some siege engines? Stationary, slow to move around, but lobs giant flaming boulders and stuff at your enemies. I think that actually adds to the theme. There won't be much in the way of missiles however, though I'm planning on two archer/infantry hybrids to select between, but even with some archer support, Gondolin is going to be first and foremost an infantry nation.

Now with magic comes the problem. I think I'll be able to work magic into the equation by making all of their magic-users warrior-mages (with maybe one or two exceptions). That being, you have masses of self-buffable thugs that you'll be recruiting on a regular basis. All without the need for equipment. Now the spread of magic will probably be everything except death and blood, and maybe weak astral (as Elves, they worship Varda) on their relatively average priests, which will very likely compromise their LA. Ah well, can't make them too overpowered (as much as I want to). Earth will be a big part of their magic (being Noldor), as will water (it's Gondolin mate), but they'll have good access to nature, fire, and air. Plus, a few commanders will get a forge bonus (just for being Noldor). That combined with magical thugs is going to be loads of fun. For your enemies, loads of pain.

Gondolin will also have a lot of national heroes. [s]I do mean alot. Like alot alot. Like alot alot alot. 13-14 heroes at least. To make them a larger element in gameplay, I'll see if I can figure out how to give Gondolin an increased chance of getting national heroes.[/s](Realized you can't mod more then 6 heroes per nation. . I'll solve that with multis.) Most of these national heroes will autospawn a fair number of the units of their houses, boosted stats and magic, and will be all and all kick ***.

Basically this is going to be a versatile nation with a heavy focus on it's infantry and thugs. If I ever follow through on this, it'll rely on alot of unit mixing and matching. Each house will have their own unique effects and strengths, so it's all going to be about how you mix up the infantry when you go up against, say, Abysia or Niefelheim that'll make the difference between getting your units totally squashed or cutting right through them.

Basic Unit Comparison:
Eagles of Manwe
stats: blessable, summonable (via starting site and spells and autospawns from hero), patrol bonus (50), flying, fear, awe, animal, magic being, lightning resistance (75%),
attack: talon, talon, beak, lightning bolt, lightning bolt
Guardian of the King
stats: capital only, blessable, (not decided)
Infantry of the White Wing
stats: spawnable only by hero, (not decided)
Infantry of the Mole
stats: spawnable only by hero, (not decided)
Hammerwielder of Hammer of Wrath
stats: fear, (not decided)
Swordsman of the Harp
stats: autocast songs (smaller AoE), standard, (not decided)
Swordsman of the Fountain
stats: awe, (not decided)
Swordsman of the Golden Flower
stats: fire resistance (25%), (not decided)
Archer of the Heavenly Arch
stats: better armor/weapons (then Swallow), (not decided)
Archer of the Swallow
stats: better precision (then Heavenly Arch), (not decided)
Clubman of the Tree
stats: poison resistance (25%), (not decided)
Swordsman of the Tower of Snow
stats: cold resistance (25%), (not decided)
Swordsman of the Pillar
stats: lightning resistance (25%), (not decided)
Gondolithrim Infantry
stats: generic infantry/PD, (not decided)
Gondolithrim Warden
stats: stealthy, standard PD, (not decided)

Commanders:

Pretenders:
Turgon, The First King
(not decided)

Heroes:
Tuor, First Prince of Gondolin
(not decided)
Maeglin, Second Prince of Gondolin
(not decided)
Earendil, the Blessed
Magic: Flying, Sacred, Sailing, Awe (+10), Standard (50), Immortal, trampling/size 6 (he'll be in his ship) S4A3
Attacks: Elvish Sword, Silmaril (large AoE automatic blind and damage to all enemy units nearby)
Thorondor, First of the Eagles
Magic: A4N3W2F2E2, autospawns eagles
[random name here], High Lord of Gondolin (multi)
The magic will probably function like what Tartarians do, i.e. 3 magic in X path, 2 in X path, 2 in X path (except it can't be in the same path). Better then your average lord.

National Spells
Call Eagle of Manwe (Conj 4), A2S1, 10 Air Gems (commander form)
slots: head, misc, misc, misc,
magic: A2, N1,
Covocation of Eagles (Conj 8), A4S2, 70 Air Gems
1 Eagle of Manwe (commander)
23 Eagles of Manwe
Blessing of the Valar, (Ench-4), S2H1, 100- fatigue
desc: Grants minor elemental resistance (25%) to all friendly units on the battlefield.
Wrath of the Valar, (Evo-6), S2H1, 50- fatigue, 5+ AoE, Precision 25
desc: Unleashes a powerful barrage of elemental damage (fire, cold, lightning, poison, mundane) upon the enemy.



Flag (it looks kinda bad, I guess; even miniaturized. I'll get around improving it):

Nation Description:

When the Noldor returned out of the Ancient West, they fought many Wars against the tyranny of the Prantokrator. Their princes built many great kingdoms and fought many battles in their wars against him, yet slowly, one by one, they fell beneath his onslaught, till only one, preserved in secrecy, remained. It is in Gondolin where the last, Free Elves remained upon Beleriand, be they Noldorin or Sindarin. Guarded by the power of Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, the height of the Encircling Mountains, and the vigilance of Eagles of Manwe, they thrived. Now, with the fall of the Prantokrator, they have returned out of the shadows of the past, to once again reclaim lands once theirs, following the leadership of a new Herald, who has come forth from Aman. The Gondolin is a great and marvelous city, famed for it's white walls, clear fountains, and green gardens. The Wardens of Gondolin stand guard upon the walls of the Seven Gates and maintain the secrecy of the City, and their hosts are arrayed in the Heraldry of the Twelve Houses of Gondolin.