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| Thread: Gnome's HOMM VII idea. | |
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gnomes2169
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Duke of the Glade
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posted October 12, 2011 03:27 AM |
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Gnome's HOMM VII idea.
Moved from the H6 altar thread since I fear that said forum is doomed to destruction at a time soon to come...
Who doesn't want to make a new game? I'll guiltily admit that this idea came to me because I saw Jiriki's proposal, but I have my own ideas. I will probably make the outlines for the campaigns for a few factions at the very least, and I'll have somewhere around 8-10 factions over-all. Each faction will have interactions with their God in some way or another, though that might just be for background in some cases.
I'm also not going to be organized as nicely as him... No tables of contents (at least in the beginning...)
Part one, general overview
World: This world is named Zehan, at least by some people. It has been so long since anyone agreed on anything that the planet's original name has been lost to history. In reality, this world is what has become of Ashan after ages of war, betrayal, death and hatred. The people who survive have broken the traditional factions. Dictators, kings and heroes rise and fall as quickly as the seasons change. Some try to bring good to a crumbling world, while others revel in it's chaos and destruction. Good and evil acts both cause unexpected, almost unintended results. And that is where our story begins... but first, you must learn about what has happened to the peoples of Ashan in their years we have been absent.
The human empires have crumbled time and time again until only stories were told of the Queen Isabel and Freyda, some make them heroes, others side them with the demons. Too much time has passed for even the legends of the greatest heroes to go unwarped. Kingdoms now stand, divided and dysfunctional. Sometimes a hero rises and unifies the people, sometimes a dictator conquers the land, forcing the people under his rule to submit. Ceril is one hero who will no longer stand for a mad king's domineering rule.
With the advent of the Demon Sovereign's demise, even the demons changed. Tearing each other apart in madness, Agreal, last surviving hero of the Blood Wars and slayer of the Sovereign, led a small faction of demons from their prison and rejoined with the dark elven clan that had survived the final minotaur revolt and the sylvan fury. Both races mingled, while the demons still trapped in their prison turned more and more feral. Their secret is slowly leaking out, leading Agreal to find a way to make a place in this world.
The dark elves had a final war with the forest elves, and while that war raged the minotaurs completely threw off their shackles. Almost every dark elven tribe was slain to the child in between the rebelling slaves and the elven fury. Eventually, the war died down and the elves and minotaurs went their separate ways, leaving tattered survivors of the dark elves to gather together under Realag's banner and go into hiding. As stated before, their blood has mixed with that of the demon's, who had taken the shape of elves to escape detection. The minotaurs are the new conquerors of the underground, the new masters who must stay imprisoned. They are the new chosen of Massala... though their God has been silent for too long. High Matriarch Goritch-Kul will lead the creatures of darkness to new freedom and great conquest, freedom to look up to the skies!
Sylanna's chosen have changed the least of all the races. Though years of defending their ancient forests from people who were once their allies have made some bitter, the forest elves still carry on their ancient duty of protecting their forest homes. Lately, the elves have turned to darker arts because of the desperate situation the world has come to, what with new barbarians rising in the north and revolutions raging in their neighbor's lands, Findain's ultimately great grandson, Leon, must see his lands through the coming war. To make his job harder, Sylanna has begun to send messages that contradict each other and in the minds of his disciples whispers are heard with peals mad laughter...
A new people have risen from the desolate north naming themselves the Dragonites. White scales adorn their flesh and they lead beasts long thought dead, beasts who's bones are turned to stone over the passing of the ages. The blood of dragons runs through these people's blood, creating great pride and great personal strength. They see the races that they are fighting as their slaves, and that civilization is for the weak minded fools. The only people that they see as worthy foes are the proud Orcs, and chieftain Sisth would test these warriors herself.
The Orcs are noble warriors and kings in their own rights. They were the first to fight the Dragonite armies who came over the mountains and the seas. They were the ones who cut the final swath into the Sovereign's last defenses. They not only fight for Father Sky and Mother Earth, now certain factions fight as mercenaries or freedom fighters for noble human factions, but the recent conflict with the Dragonites has brought around a lust in many Orcs to return to their barbarian origins. Father Sky has sent visions to these Orcs' leader, A Warchief known as Kor'Sila showing him Wizards that enslave his brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, A great Orc Warchief named Hurick leads his kingdom to battle against the Dragonites.
The Silver cities have slowly begun to crumble as the demonic threat disappeared. Peoples of Ashan began to see the power of magic as dangerous and unnecessary. But two cities still stand. Where before the wizards were only the select and elite, now they have been forced to accept all with any spark of magic in them with open arms. Tensions with Orcs, the Empires of man and the Minotaurs have been compounded by the Dragonite raids. And of course there are always the necromancers who continually rise from the ashes no matter how many times you crush them... Or so the pupil Crius believes. He has read about the old day's glory, of texts that told of a glorious Wizard who stood at the gates of hell and laughed. He will bring back those days kicking and screaming if he needs to.
The Necromancers have been crushed time and again by Empires, Wizards, Orcs, Elves, dwarves... everything that lives, really. Though at times of need, people have allied themselves with the Necromancers, such alliances were always short-lived. Asha has become cold and detached from her followers, some of the new Necromancer initiates say that their god has left them... but Sane will prove them wrong. Who could destroy them once a God walked the earth?
The dwarves found that, much to their downfall, the minotaurs were far more ruthless. The mountain clans died in their halls, though some clans survived due to the virtue of being located or banished to the surface. Arkath, seeing his followers dieing around him, sent divine assistance to save them. Fire burned away the underworld invasion forces and sent them back to the holes they came from. Of all the gods, Arkath is the one who is the most involved with his people, sending manifestations of his will into the world. The dwarves have also created mechanical wonders to rival the ancient Wizard's to aid their survival. Lothar seeks to regain his old halls, to end the desecration of his family's ancient home.
And then we come to the last of those in this power struggle. The Order of Time has stood, watching the world burn time and again while waiting for their God to give them the command... A command that never comes. Lias, Captain-Commander of the Order's armies, has had enough waiting. Too many have died for the Order to watch and wait for a command that will never come. These people must be saved from themselves. The Council must be convinced that now is the time, now is the place, that now is the hour of greatest need! But how to do that...
Resources:
Money: Gold
Common: Wood, stone, ore.
Rare: Gems, Mercury, Sulfur.
Limited: Crystal
All are used for buildings, though in different amounts. Gold is used for all units, though higher lever creatures may use a day's worth of mine production to purchase. Crystals are used for powerful creatures in all factions, and crystal mines only produce one crystal unit every two days.
Caravans:
Caravans are used by heroes and cities to bring armies to them as reinforcements. Yes, heroes can have caravans move their troops directly to their on-field armies, though this is more expensive and a caravan that sets off an ambush will have some of its survivors (if they survive) desert the army.
Creatures
Creatures will be divided into the "Core, elite, champion" grading scale, with the ratio being dependent on the race and the individual creature. Each faction will have a creature selection choice that will block off another creature of the same tier (and unlock creatures of the next tier along the same line, while locking other creatures.) In this way, there are actually four creatures for the core and elite tiers, and two for the champions, but you can only use three core/ elites and one champion type per city.
Example: Haven has the Spearman (Empire) tree, and the Mercenary (Dominion) tree. The construction of the Spearman will unlock the Griffon and Angel structures (once you get enough town points) and disable the Witch Hunter and the Champion (creature), since those are the Dominion creatures. The rival armies do not mix, ever. Certain lines will be more suited to certain situations, Dominion has stronger creatures while Empire has more and better abilities, for instance. Otherwise, you can still recruit basic core and elite creatures as normal.
If you take a town of the same faction that chose the opposite creature line (basically alignment) from you, then your hero destroys the buildings, giving you the resources required to build them, and executes the creatures that were not hired from the buildings, giving you free EXP. After that, you have the ability to create your own buildings.
Creature stats:
HP: How much damage the top creature of a stack can take at maximum/ how much it has left over.
Attack: Raises physical damage by 15% per every point higher than enemy creature's defense.
Defense: Lowers physical damage by 15% per every point higher than the enemy creature's attack.
Initiative: Determines the order the creature goes in each round of battle.
Speed: Determines how far a creature can move in battle.
Shots: How many ranged attacks a creature can make per battle.
Range: Determines how effective indirect attacks will be. Indirect attacks that go over walls or half the field will deal half damage. One quarter damage will occur if the enemy is halfway across the field and behind an obstacle.
Spellpower: the converted power of all spell casting creatures in one stack. Stack power is determined by # Of creatures/Creature level (25>5>1). Max creature SP=Hero SP+5
Mana: Determines how many spells can be cast by a creature each battle.
Heroes
Heroes lead armies, equip powerful artifacts, cast powerful spells and utilize powerful skills to effect battle. They are the heart of every army, and the most powerful warriors of their empires. Here is their basic rundown:
Stats:
Heroes, much like creatures, have stats that determine how they effect the course of battle, though unlike creatures, heroes do not participate directly in combat. Instead, their power and experience is added to their creatures' power, or is used in the act of spell casting. The stats are:
Attack: Adds 1 point to all creatures attack stat in the hero's army per point of hero attack.
Defense: Adds 1 point all creatures defense stat in the hero's army per point of hero defense.
Spellpower: Increases the duration or damage of spells the hero casts. Also allows spell casting creatures to raise their spellpower since the creature cap depends on hero's power.
Knowledge: Increases hero's mana by 10 per point.
Other than their statistics, heroes also have artifacts that they can equip artifacts that cause different bonuses for friendly creatures, negative effects for enemy creatures or allows the hero to cast certain spells (scrolls). A hero can equip an artifact to their: Head, neck, chest, back, feet, arms, left hand, right hand, left finger, right finger, neck and three pocket slots. Artifacts will generally have a specified equip zone.
Heroes have or can purchase (for 500 gold) a spell book. from there they can cast spells to influence battle to their advantage.
The last aspect of a hero is that they have the ability to learn skills. Skills cover a whole range of factors, creature attack power, creature defense, creature movement and positioning, adventure map movement and sight, spell power and special hero abilities. Heroes can unlock certain advanced skills by choosing the right basic skills. A single hero may have up to eight skills total.
Battles:
Battle system: Battle occurs on a turn basis, where every creature moves at least once before the beginning of the next turn. Creatures act on a turn based system determined by the initiative of the creatures. Higher initiatives move first. In the case of a tie, creatures will randomly go based on terrain, size, faction, hero type and hero skills. Battle fields will be determined in size and structure based on passable land around the battle and terrain anywhere from a 10x10 field to a 22x22 field. Obstacles are randomly generated in non-siege battles. Siege battles are always on a battle field as large in dimension as the city level (minimum of 10X15), walls add an extra 5 tiles to the battle field.
Moral and luck modifiers: Moral activates on creatures randomly as battle goes on. If "good" moral activates, then the creature it activates on will gain a second action on this turn. This effect only happens once per battle. If you have a negative moral, the creature has a chance of having "bad" moral activate on it. If "bad" moral activates, then this creature will go last this turn, regardless of initiative. Moral can be increased and decreased by skills, artifacts, spells, hero specials and creature abilities. Moral is lowered as you mix creatures from different factions.
Luck is much like moral, but it happens only on attacks and retaliations. If good luck activates, the creatures who benefit from it will deal double damage. If bad luck activates, then the creatures deal half damage. Luck is only effected by skills, spells, artifacts and hero specials.
Both luck and moral have a 5% chance of activation per point present. Both have a maximum of 10 and a minimum of -10.
Attack and defense: Creatures have both an attack value and defense value that are effected by spells, artifact sets and hero statistics. The higher they are, the less or more damage creatures under a hero's command grow.
Every point a creature has over an enemy creature's defense causes the attacking creature to deal 15% more damage. Maximum of 300%. Defense works in the opposite way, causing creatures to deal 15% less damage per point of defense higher than a creature's attack, max of 300%.
Heroes: Heroes have their own turns in the system of combat and their own initiative value. Every five levels adds a small amount if initiative to the hero's total. Heroes are not effected by spells except haste and slow (Which will effect initiative). Heroes cast spells and have their own attack ability that deals direct, unmitigated damage that increases based on hero level and attack stat value. Heroes also effect battle by increasing ally creature's attack and defense.
Environment: Environment will effect different things based on where the battle is taking place. Unless a creature has an ability that allows it to maintain its original status, it will be hindered somehow by the battle field terrain. Also, certain spells become more or less effective when uses in certain battles.
-Plains: No difference.
-Forest: -1 move for walkers.
-Ship: -2 move and initiative for walkers, +20% to the effects of water magic.
-Underground: -25% to range, -3 move for living fliers, -2 move for living walkers, -10% initiative, +20% to the effects of dark spells.
-Lava: -2 defense, -2 initiative for living creatures, +20% to fire magic.
-Mountain: +20% earth magic, +20% air magic.
Sieges: Sieges are attacks on towns by an opposing player. They are generally long and key battles. In a siege, the defender may have built walls and towers to aid in their defense, giving both a defensive and offensive bonus to the defending player. Flying creatures can land on walls and obstacles that they city defenders may have thrown up, while also just bypassing them all together. towers may be targeted by shooters and adjacent fliers for 1/8 of the normal damage. Towers can be killed by the Trebuchet (a siege machine that all heroes automatically have), and the walls can be killed by this war machine as well.
Events:
-1. Weekly modifiers
"Week of ____" will not effect specific creature growth. (Week of... will be listed later.) In fact, most will effect movement, power or standing armies, very few will effect growth of anything.
-2. Ambushes
Ambushes will occur based on your reputation with other factions. the more creatures of a faction you kill, the lower that faction's relations will become for you. At a certain point, they will send assassins to try to deal with you, mostly low-level creatures with a weak hero. When an ambush occurs, enemies will be arranged above and below the player's armies. If the hero ambushed has tactics and scouting, he may rearrange his army. forces killed in ambushes do not count towards reputation.
-3. Survivors
At the end of a defeated battle, a small percentage of creatures, roughly 20% of the army total, will retreat to your closest town. They arrive at the speed of a hero with full logistics and can be attacked by an enemy hero. If the survivors are killed, then no creatures return.
Part four, Heroes
Stats
Artifacts
Haven
Dungeon
Preserve
Barbarian
Stronghold
Academy
Fortress
Necropolis
Renegades
Expansion 1:
Tainted
Expansion 2:
Inferno
Part five, Campaigns
Haven
Dungeon
Preserve
Barbarian
Stronghold
Stronghold
Academy
Fortress
Necropolis
Renegades
Expansion 1:
Tainted
Barbarian
Tainted
Renegade
Combined
Expansion 2:
Inferno
Preserve
Dungeon
Haven
Necropolis
Inferno
Part six, Week modifiers and ambushes
Part seven, Spells
Part eight, Skills
____________
Yeah in the 18th century, two inventions suggested a method of measurement. One won and the other stayed in America.
-Ghost destroying Fred
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gnomes2169
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Duke of the Glade
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posted October 12, 2011 03:28 AM |
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Divided because I know that this will be a long, long proses. Also, I added creature and hero stat description to the World Overview list.
Part two, Faction overview
Haven "The human race is surprising, where most species would give up and die after their twelfth near-extinction, the humans still kick and scream their way back. No matter how many times they are kicked down, nor how many times they destroy themselves, their structures of stone and monuments to heroes rise again and again. Their faith is their shield against the hardships of life, but it is not enough to hold of the chaos of the world. It never is."
-Lias, Captain-Commander of the order of time
Aka: The Empire-The Dominion
Symbols: Griffon-Crossed swords
Colors: Silver, gold, blue - Black, blue, white
God: Elrath-Elrath or others
Magic: Light, water, earth
Make-up: Humans, beasts, domestic animals.
Creatures:
Core:
-Blood Hound
-Woodsman
and
-Pikeman
or
-Mercenary
Elite:
-Centurion
-Priest
and
-Griffon
or
-Witch hunter
Champion:
Angel
or
Champion
Heroes
-Might: Paladin
-Magic: Vestal
Dungeon "Slaves of the elves no longer, instead we are our own masters. And we are greater than the elves ever were. Deeper have we delved into our home, farther have we conquered than they ever thought possible. The races above, they shudder to think of when we break the last barriers. At the mention of our name, they cower. that is power! They are the weak, we; the strong. And what stops the strong from taking what they wish from the weak?"
-High Matriarch Goritch-Kul
Aka: Massala's disciples - The Beast masters
Symbols: Black Dragon Head - Minotaur Head
Colors: Black, brown, purple - Black, maroon, brown
God: Malassa - Malassa
Magic: Dark, earth, warcries
Make up: Minotaurs, reptilians, creatures of the deep
Creatures:
Core:
-Fighter
-Beholder
and
-Shadow fiend
or
-Deep Bat
Elite:
-Medusa
-Minotaur Lord
and
-Black Witch
or
-Lizard
Champion:
-Black Dragon
or
-Hydra
Heroes:
-Might: Overlord
-Magic: Matriarch
Preserve "Listen to the birds and the beasts of the forest, listen to the tree's song. Listen to the land as the wind passes through it. Listen my son, for one day you will have to care for it. I pray to Sylanna that you will not know war, but let the world tell you how to fight, let it teach you the ways of the fox for cunning, the wolf for ferocity, and the owl for wisdom. Why wisdom? you must learn when to take a life, and when to let an enemy live, for they might one day turn into something that shines brighter than the stars. So, to learn compassion, listen to the birds. To learn pity, listen to the wind. And to learn Mercy, to learn mercy above all else, listen to your heart."
-Findan's last message to his successors.
Aka: The High elves - The Fea
Symbols: Ancient oak - The stars
Colors: green, brown, blue - Green, brown, black
God: Sylanna - Sylanna
Magic: Elemental
Build up: Elves, animals.
Creatures:
Core:
-Wolf
-Hunter
and
-Blade Dancer
or
-Pixie
Elite:
-Unicorn
-great Eagle
and
-Druid
or
-Doppelganger
Champion:
-Green dragon
or
-Dendrite
Heroes:
-Might: Ranger
-Magic: Elementalist
Barbarian "Hmph, look at them. These people, who were said to be the greatest of the land's defenders, the greatest knights of the realm. Pff, pathetic insects! Nothing little more challenging than a razor-rac. These people don't deserve their lands, they aren't worthy of our army's full attention! This scouting party should be enough to crush them all."
-Kor'Sila
Aka: The Conquerors - The Blood seekers
Symbols: Shattered throne - Blood tear
Colors: White, brown, green - White, red, black
God: Father Sky - Mother earth
Magic: Warcries, water, fire
Build up: Dragonites, prehistoric reptiles, draconian creatures
Creatures:
Core:
-Raider
-Razor-rac
and
-True-blood
or
-Blood letter
Elite:
-Berzerker
-Tyrant Lizard
and
-Knight
or
-Wyrm
Champion:
-White Dragon
or
-Red dragon
Heroes:
-Might: Barbarian
-Magic: Blood mage
Stronghold "Once, we were a people with no home. A proud but lost people, barbarians. We feared the magics that had created us. you laugh, but it was so. Whatever we feared, we learned to hate. And so we hated magic and the wizards who used it. We hated the men of great cities for their order, for their hope and their faith in their community. It has been long and hard, but we have finally moved past our hate. Look upon our cities, my sons, and you will see the greatest nations in the world! No longer are we a people without a home, no longer do we live in hate!"
-Kreelon, first king of the Orcs
Aka: The Kingdom - The Wild Ones
Symbols: Armored fist - War axe
Colors: Brown, red, silver - Brown, red, green
Gods: Mother Earth (emphasis) - Father Sky (emphasis)
Magic: Warcries, earth, air
Make up: Civilized orcs, wandering orcs, magical experiments.
Creatures:
Core:
-Goblin
-Mauler
and
-Shaman
or
-Warrior
Elite:
-Wyvern
-Slayer
and
-Bloodrager
or
-Chieftain
Champion:
-Cyclops
Or
-Roc
Heroes:
-Might: Warchief
-Magic: Elder Shaman
Academy "Masters of the Maelstrom, masters of the elements, masters of men and magic. Kings, advisers and manipulators. Destroyers and saviors. That is what we once were. Well I ask you, why leave it as, 'Once?' Let us rebuild our old glory! Let us become what we once were, together!"
-Crius, headmaster of the Silver Academy.
Aka: The Remakers - The Mage lords
Symbols: H5 Mysticism symbol (can't link!) - Shining staff
Colors: Blue, yellow, orange - Blue, grey, white
Gods: Sar-Elam - None
Magic: All except prime/ runic/ warcries, emphasis on summoning.
Make up: Humans, magical creations, ancient clockwork creatures
Creatures:
Core:
-Gremlin
-Gargoyle
and
-Golem
or
-Battle mage
Elite:
-Djin
-Rakshasa
and
-Magic elemental
or
-Chimera
Champion:
-Dragon golem
or
-Titan
Heroes:
-Might: Warden
-Magic: Wizard
Fortress "Dwarves of the Hall is what we are, and the Hall is where we belong! 'Tis not healthy, us livin' on the surface this long. Aye, Arkath be protectin' us from those who would do us harm, but that ain't goin' te fill the ache in our hearts! Te survive, the clans must find some way te reclaim the Hall. Until then, our brotherhood will give us strong backs and our companionship must shield us from our loss."
-Dwarven shield commander
Aka: The Hall - The Surfacers
Symbols: Rune - Hammer
Colors: Silver, brown, white - Silver, blue, gold
God: Arkath - Arkath
Magic: Runic, fire, earth
Make up: Dwarves, mechanical automatons, Fire creatures
Creatures:
Core:
-Defender
-Bear rider
and
-Burning spirit
or
-Clockwork lion
Elite:
-Thane
-Rune knight
and
-Pyromancer
or
-Assault construct
Champion:
-Magma Dragon
or
-Colossus
Heroes:
-Might: Mountain lord
-Magic: Flame keeper
Necropolis "Another cult? Sane, why have you shown me this? Where is your discovery?! ... Sane? SANE?! Where are-"
-An inquisitive Wizard's last words.
Aka: The Death lords - Asha's chosen
Symbols: Skull - Spider
Colors: Black, green, purple - Green, black, white
God: Asha - Asha
Magic: Dark, summoning, prime
Make up: Everything that can die.
Creatures:
Core:
-Skeleton
-Zombie
and
-Bone hound
or
-Ghost
Elite:
-Vampire
-Litch
and
-Abomination
or
-Wight
Champion
-Bone Dragon
or
-Grim
Heroes:
-Might: Death knight
-Magic: Necromancer
Renegades "This is the Order of Time. We were told by our council and God to wait for the time when the world needed us most before we interfered with its happenings. We have watched from the depths of time and space, watched good man after good man die, watched order eradicate itself and civilizations stagnate. We have watched the hopes of men die, and their fears come true. We will watch no longer, lord Councilor. We will act."
-Captain Lure
Aka: The Order - The Rebels
Symbols: Ornate shield - Silver flame
Colors: White, grey, black
God: Sar-Elam - Lias
Magic: Prime, light, dark
Build up: Immortals, spirits, magical creatures
Creatures:
Core:
-Monk
-Time soldier
and
-Guardian (spirit)
or
-Prime Mage
Elite:
-Drake knight (Magical creature)
-Storm wisp (spirit)
and
-Praetorian
or
-Living metal (Magical creature)
Champion:
-Councilor
or
-Tempest (Magical creature)
Heroes:
-Might: Captain
-Magic: Time bender
Expansion #1:
Tainted "Long years I slaved under the dominion of an all knowing, all powerful being. I stood at his right hand, as a son stands beside a father. As hard as it is to comprehend, even back when I was at my worst, even when my demonic nature drove me to do things that would make your insides curdle, elf, I knew that I loved him. Even when I saw him for the monster that he was, even when I killed him, I still loved him. And then Isabel... Isabel..." He turned to look away from me, voice cracking, "So yes, demons have emotions just as complicated as yours, yes we seek companionship, and yes, if she asked you to marry her claiming to love you, the succubus did not lie. Go, have a good life, raise a family, and be happy. We are all that we have left."
-Agreal to a dark elf.
Aka: The Tainted - The Assassins
Symbols: Orb of fire, orb of darkness - Eclipse
Colors: Black, red, blue - Black, grey, red
God: Agreal - Malassa
Magic: Destructive, earth
Make up: Demonic elves, dark elves, blood creatures
Creatures:
Core:
-Scout
-Shadow dancer
and
-Half-breed
or
-Stalker
Elite:
-Blood Golem
-Feral Shadow
and
-Demon knight
or
-Whisperer
Champion:
-Blade Fiend
or
-Dark lord
Heroes:
-Might: Assassin
-Magic: Warlock
Expansion #2
Inferno The whole of the burning planes shudders for and instant. Demons stop their butchering to stare towards the dessicated palace. Some recoil in shock, others fear, but in their eyes is a mad hunger, a need that can finally be filled. The burning field begins to crack and heave as fires are drawn to the palace, consuming it in a burning halo, a vortex that grows and spins faster, larger, beckoning to them. And the demons run to it, scrambling over and clawing one another in their attempt to be there first. Their haste proves to be their savior, as the fire erupts, consuming all those left behind. But as the dust settles, something happens that hasn't happened for an age.
The demons rise again.
Old lords and dukes of this fiery kingdom stare in amazement as from the palace a man walks out. In his step, the fires grow brighter, touching him delicately, caressing his immortal flesh. Mal-Beleth waits until the demons congregating outside of Sheogh's core turn to notice him. With one deep throated laugh, he cries to them, "I AM REBORN!"
-Rebirth of the Demon Sovereign.
Aka: The Demon Lords - the Feral Ones
Symbols: Pentagram - Raging inferno
Colors: Red, black, orange - Grey, black, yellow
God: Mal-Beleth - Mal-Beleth
Magic: Fire, dark, prime
Make up: Demons, feral demons, unholy perversions
Creatures:
Core:
-Cerberus
-Familiar
and
-Horned demon
or
-Magog
Elite:
-Nightmare
-Soul drinker
and
-Succubus
or
-Lacerator
Champion:
-Devil
or
-Pitspawn
Heroes:
-Might: Duke
-Magic: Lunatic
____________
Yeah in the 18th century, two inventions suggested a method of measurement. One won and the other stayed in America.
-Ghost destroying Fred
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gnomes2169
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Duke of the Glade
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posted October 12, 2011 03:29 AM |
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Part three, Creatures
Haven:
Haven creatures are mostly very "Tanky," as in they have high HP and defense. Haven creatures have good growths and generally low damage ranges, though some elites have wide ranges. generally, haven is meant to outlast the enemy and is a very inexpensive faction.
Core:
-Blood Hound: "Big, big dogs they are. Mostly used to hunt criminals or other performers of dastardly deeds, they can also be used to hunt enemies on the field of battle. They might be called man's best friend, but that's only if you aren't a criminal."
Appearance: A large brown hound with a white belly.
Stats: High attack, low defense, high damage, average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Pack hunter: Attack of the Blood Hound is increased by 1 for every spell point you would normally get from a caster, so every 25 Bloodhounds increases attack by 1.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Low
Growth: Average
Strategy: Gains power the more you have, but survivability is low until you get a powerful might hero. Very much a strike before being struck creature.
-Woodsman: "Well, we ain't quite so good as them sylvan foresty people, but we are good enough archers and woodsmen to keep the roads clear of highwaymen."
Appearance: Cloak and compound bow. Has a hunting knife attached to his belt.
Stats: Average attack, low defense, average damage, low health, average speed. Shots high.
Abilities:
--Shooter: Can perform indirect attacks
--Forest blend: Takes 25% less damage from range in a forest battle. Also, they can conceal themselves for two turns in a forest battle.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Low
Growth: High
Strategy: Your basic shooter who is better against ranged enemies then it is against melee creatures. Conceal helps keep them alive, since their HP does them no favors.
and
-Pikeman: "We are the king's honor guard, his hand in the world. We will uphold that ideal and keep back the blades that would harm him, protecting his flesh with our own."
Appearance: Silver lightly armored spearman, bladed pike and a kite shield.
Stats: Average attack, high defense, low damage, high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--Reach: Melee attacks can be made up to two spaces away for 60% damage and no enemy retaliation.
--Large shield: Spearmen take half damage from range.
--Disciplined: Spearmen are immune to fear effects and can never have negative moral.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: Can you say "Tank?" They are outclassed by the Mercenary because of their speed, attack, range, cost and growth differences. They have better abilities then the Mercenary, but are inferior unless you need to create a wall against ranged enemies.
or
-Mercenary: "the dominion has many sources of income, but their chief export is their soldiers, some of the best in the world. They are all hard, strong men who's only care is that of their employer's. They value their freedom greatly."
Appearance: A tall man in leather armor, has a handheld crossbow and a greatsword.
Stats: High attack, average defense, high damage, high health, high speed. Shots few.
Abilities:
--Shooter: Able to perform indirect attacks.
--No melee penalty: Melee attacks do full damage.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: A powerful creature with few abilities. Outclasses the spearman in most aspects, and though it has few abilities it is still a solid creature, in fact it could be considered one of the best cores.
Elite:
-Centurion: "The strongest foot soldier available for the defense of the homeland, the Centurion has had years of training and hundreds of taxpayer funds go into its equipment and fielding. Centurions have had years of field experience and are always found defending the most important target."
Appearance: Walking suit of armor with tower shield and a falchion. Wears a cape the color of the player who controls it. Has the symbol of the Dominion or the Empire, depending on your choice.
Stats: Average attack, very high defense, low damage, high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--Large shield: Decreases indirect damage by 50%.
--Defender: Adjacent units take 25% less damage from range.
--Bash: 15% chance to prevent retaliation and force an enemy to act last the turn this ability activates. Only works on attacks. Passive.
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Move type: Walker
Strategy: Tank it up. Starting the trend of high survivability we've all come to know and love from Haven in the past games (unless you choose the Spearman), the Centurion is the ultimate defender. It is the most defensive of all the elites and one of the most expensive. Bash is a nice little bonus to a good creature, but a rare one. It's speed makes reaching the enemy troublesome, but not impossible. Still, better to let the enemy come to you so that you can defend valuable targets like your woodsmen and priests.
-Priest: "Holy men who cast powerful blessings and who smite enemies of humans with the holy power of Elrath. They are some of the only individuals able to cast spells in the human kingdoms."
Appearance: Old man in a bishop's robes. Caries a staff with a cross mounted on its end.
Stats: Average attack, low defense, high damage, low health, average speed. Shots; many. Mana; high.
Abilities:
--Shooter: May make indirect attacks.
--Caster:
---Haste: Speeds up initiative of target creature by 10. Duration = 1 turn every 5 priests present in the stack.
---Bless: Closes the gap between maximum and minimum damage by 50%. Duration = 1 turn every 5 priests present in the stack.
---Divine wrath: Deals 50 damage to target creature every point of spell power. 1 point per 5 priests.
---Divine endurance: Increases health and defense of target creature by 10% for four turns.
Cost: Average
Growth: Low
Strategy: The only exception to the "Haven's elites are a tank" rule, the priest is the only caster haven has available, and they do their job well. They are support casters who also have a strong offensive spell. Protect them with more expendable creatures, because they are rather frail and high priority targets.
and
-Griffon: "Proud winged creatures, they defend the empire that they call home with zeal, attacking all who challenge them with equal vigor. They will only obey the Emperor and his soldiers."
Appearance: I do hope you know what a griffon looks like by now.  Has a chest plate and shoulder armor.
Stats: Average attack, above average defense, high damage, very high health ,high speed.
Abilities:
--Flying: May move over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Unlimited retaliation: retaliates against all melee attacks.
--Dive attack: Select a stack. Griffons fly into the sky and are untargetable until this stack makes an action. The next action this stack would take causes the griffons to perform a dive attack on their current position for 70% damage and no retaliation. after the dive, Griffons land in the closest adjacent tile space they can to the target.
--Large creature: Griffons take up four hexes of space on the battle field.
Move type: Flying
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: A powerful creature that continues the tank line while also adding in speed, damage and growth. Griffins are only available if you chose the Spearman, so you are getting two tanks at the very least with this line. Their high damage and unlimited retaliation make them perfect for the rush tactic, and their dive has more accuracy and speed then it did before, since it will always hit and you could target an enemy that goes immediately after the griffon. Bless and Curse work wonders with these creatures.
or
-Witch hunter: "Hunters of those who use dark magic, Witch Hunters are both fast and powerful fighters, getting in two attacks where most would only get one. They also have built resistance to lesser dark spells due to their years of hunting the darkness. Because of their dark and uncertain reputation, only the Dominion will field these warriors."
Appearance: Think This.
Stats: High attack, average defense, high damage, high health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Double attack: Makes two attacks when the action occurs, one before retaliation, one after.
--Immunity to curses: Immune to the spells slow and curse.
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: Once again, a powerful creature betrayed by its lack of abilities. While you could argue that double attack increases its damage potential that is the only ability that will make a difference in every battle, and the griffon has the ability to go over walls. One on one, the Witch hunter probably would kill the grif... but just barely. Also, it can't fly, so the griffon might be more useful when attacking the enemy's cities. witch hunters are affected strongly by bless, but are immune to curse.
Champion:
-Angel: "Vestal of Elrath's power, the King may call upon these warriors to fight his foes in the times of greatest need. They have great power and the ability to resurrect those who have fallen in battle."
Appearance: Like this.
Stats: High attack, very high defense, high damage, above average health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Flying: May move over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Resurrect: Revives creatures in target stack. 120 hp per angel is resurrected or healed. Once per battle.
--Large creature: Angel stack takes up four hexes in the battle field.
Move type: Flying
Cost: High
Growth: Average
Strategy: A powerful creature who's ability makes it even stronger, the angel is basically a one-creature army. Use it as such. For battles against the angel, these are your priority targets. Focus fire, and you should be able to take them down, though not without a few losses.
or
-Champion: "The champion is the leader of the Dominion attack charge, rushing enemy lines and disrupting their defenses, even charging far enough into enemy lines to strike those hiding behind the front lines. The farther they charge, the more power the champions will crash into the enemy with."
Appearance: Like this.
Stats: Average attack, average defense, high damage, average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Charge: Deals 10% more damage each space traversed before the Champion attacks.
--Shatter the lines: Attack that has +30% damage will lower enemy defense by 20% and removes the abilities "Defender", "Large shield", "Armored" and "Disciplined" for two turns.
--Overrun: Attack that has increased its damage by at least 40% will hit the enemy immediately behind the target for 70% damage.
--Large creature: the champion takes four hexes on the battle field.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: High
Strategy: Hit them hard, and hit them first. The Champion benefits from one of the highest growths in the game because of their growth-boosting building. They are very destructive the first turn... but probably won't survive long after. They are strongly affected by bless and curse.
Dungeon
Dungeon creatures are all very powerful, but almost all have the flaw of having incredibly low creature growths and they are not the fastest faction either. All creatures are immune to underground terrains, and many are immune to certain curses or negative effects.
Core:
-Fighter: "The minotaur turned its head at the grating. Some fool had entered the labyrinth. Running along the twists and turns, the minotaur hefted its axe, raising the blade to his face and bellowing. A thousand cries answered his, and the minotaurs fell on the intruders. Soon, there were only seas of red."
Appearance: Bull-man covered in black fur, carries a greataxe.
Stats: High attack, low defense, average damage, high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--Bravery: Moral is never lower than 1.
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: A slow creature with high health and low defense. their abilities are only slightly better than useless above ground, but they are necessary to make the minotaur effective underground. Low growth for the "Swarm" creature makes them a bit difficult to utilize, but bravery does assist sometimes.
-Beholder: "'Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder,' That's how the saying goes at least. They forgot to mention the hatred, malice, destruction and envy that stands behind that beauty."
Appearance: Large floating eye with a few eye stalks sticking out of the rest of the scaly body.
Stats: Average attack, low defense, average damage, average health, average speed. Shots; many.
Abilities:
--Shooter: May make indirect attacks.
--Eye of malice: Enemy attacked indirectly has a 25% chance of being inflicted with a lvl 1 dark spell curse.
--No melee penalty: Direct attacks deal normal damage.
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: The beholder is probably one of the stronger core shooters both statistically and because of its abilities. It is just as deadly in melee as in range, and its ranged attacks inflict lvl 1 curses on the enemy. If there is a powerful stack on the field, target them with beholders to weaken them.
and
-Shadow fiend: "Bill, I told you to stop touching me! Bill!... Bill?"
Appearance: A black, humanoid, living shadow with purple eyes.
Stats: High attack, very low defense, Very high damage, low health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Creature of darkness: The shadow fiend is immune to dark spells and the effects of underground terrain. It also gains invisibility on the first three turns of combat in swamps and the underground.
--Wraith touch: Enemies damaged by Shadow fiends loose two moral. Caps at three.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: The S.Fiend is a very strong creature attack wise. When attacked, it tends to just die. Immunity to dark spells gives it a decided advantage in combat where curses are common, as they won't effect the Shadow fiend.
or
-Deep Bat: "Screeching, biting things the size of your common house cat, the bats screeched loud enough and spun around us fast enough that we didn't hear a thing from those minotaurs until they were right on top of us."
Appearance: Large bat
Stats: Average attack, low defense, low damage, low health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Screech: Ability that lowers enemy initiative by 15% for two turns. Enemy must be adjacent to the bats.
--Random maneuvers: Lowers melee damage by 50% and ranged damage by 25%.
--Echolocation: Bats are not effected by underground terrain and are immune to blind.
--Flyer: This creature my fly over and land on walls and obstacles.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Low
Growth: Average
Strategy: A disruptive creature that non-destructive magic heroes may find a bother to take care of, they disrupt enemy initiative minorly if given the right incentive. The ability to fly and their high speed/ initiative give them a good ability to cause havoc in the enemy's lines.
Elite:
-Medusa: "The serpentine body slithered across the cool tile lustfully. Medusa laughed despite herself, so delicate these humans were. So frail. Dropping her bow and endless quiver of arrows, Medusa drew close to her victim. Pushing up his chin and feeling him tremble, she studied the slave's face. 'This one will do well in the front garden.' She told the minotaurs. Making eye contact, her mask of beauty became an evil grimace. the slave had time to get out and abrupt scream before turning forever into a statue."
Appearance: a beautiful serpentine women, body and upper torso are human, lower body is snake.
Stats: Average everything. Infinite shots.
Abilities:
--Shooter: May make indirect attacks.
--Unlimited shots: The Medusa never runs out of shots.
--Stare of Stone: Once every four turns, the Medusa stack may make a special attack that kills one core creature per Medusa. The Medusas still suffers a retaliation to this attack.
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: A very powerful creature that has a very low growth, the Medusa might be considered one of the most powerful elites. As a shooter with infinite shots, the Medusa is strong as long as it remains unblocked. It also remains powerful when engaged in melee by cores because of its abilities. Sure, the enemy deals retaliation damage back even if the ability is activated, but there won't be too much to retaliate with once medusas kill their number in enemies. They have some of the highest defense and speed for elite shooters. Take them out with range or elites/ champions if you have to fight them.
-Minotaur Lord: "Minotaur Lords. Some of the strongest and most dangerous fighters of the underground, these "lords" have claimed the heads of better likes than you boy. Heavily armored and armed to the teeth, Minotaur Lords are dauntless and almost impossible to kill through conventional means. What does that mean? Hope that you have a mage handy."
Appearance: This
Stats: Attack high, defense high, damage very high, health very high, speed low.
Abilities:
--Armored: Immune to defense damaging effects.
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
--Endless courage: Moral is never lower than three.
--Cleave: Attacks ignore a small percentage (15%) of an enemy's defense on attacks and retaliations.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Very high
Growth: Very low
Strategy: The strongest elite creature in the game. Unfortunately it's rather slow, but that is compensated by the fact that it takes no recognizable damage from most physical sources. Minotaur Lords are also very useful in battle because when they get a turn they are decently likely to get another one immediately after. Also, tough defensive creatures like the Dendrite or the White dragon have their defense lowered appreciably by Cleave. All in all, if you fight them use range and curses to kill them with lowered risk to yourself.
and
-Black Witch: "And here you thought that Minotaurs couldn't use magic."
Appearance: Minotaur female with black and purple robes and a heavy rod.
Stats: Attack low, defense average, damage low, health average, speed average. Mana very high.
Abilities:
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
--Caster:
---Despair: Lowers moral by 5 for 10 turns.
---Decay: Deals 20 damage per 5 Black Witches for three turns.
---Slow: reduces initiative by 10 for 10 turns.
---Curse: Enemy has 75% less damage range off of the maximum for 10 turns.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: A good caster since it gets a rather decent amount of troops. Plenty of curses and dark spells to make your enemy's life miserable. You don't want them to get into melee, which is the only kind of combat that they can participate in. With their mana, this shouldn't be too hard.
or
-Lizard: "Hiss, roar, and a scraping silence are the last things that many a brave adventurer or cave driver hears. These... Cave lizards are nasty little buggers. Fortunately, hooves and saddles don't mix well, so there aren't any minotaur raiders."
Appearance: Think something on the lines of a black allosaurus. (For those who dont know what us yanks mean by Allosaurus...)
Stats: High attack, average defense, average damage, High health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Leap: The raider jumps over a wall or obstacle. If an enemy stack/ stacks that are on the other side or adjacent to the spot the Lizard lands is subject to a free attack without retaliation.
--Lizard bite: Lizard chomps an enemy that is subject to an ally attack if they are adjacent to the enemy attack. The chomp is free of retaliation but only deals 20% normal damage.
--Dark-vision: No penalties for fighting underground battles. 50% resistant to the effects of blind.
--Large creature: Lizard stacks take up a two by two hex space.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: My favorite creature from H5, or any game ever made I guess. Fast and resistant to one of the nastiest spells in the game, Lizards are good at dealing damage and getting over obstacles and not being retaliated against by melee. A powerful creature, but gaining it prevents the hiring of your only possible caster.
Champion:
-Black Dragon: "Leaders and messengers for Malassa's people. Malassa's children are completely immune to magical effects and are nearly unstoppable on the battlefield. Their scales deflect almost all arrows and blades, while their fire burns through all enemies in their path."
Appearance: H4 dragons
Stats: High everything except speed and damage. Average speed, very high damage.
Abilities:
--Flier: May move over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Magic Immunity: Immune to all magic, hostile or not.
--Fire attack: Melee attacks burn through the first creature stack and hits the stack immediately behind it for full damage.
--Immunity to terrain: takes no terrain penalties, ever, for any reason.
--Extremely large creature: Black Dragon stacks take up a four by four hex space.
Move type: Flying
Cost: Very high
Growth: Low
Strategy: The most powerful creature in the game. Completely immune to all negative effects and they are the most expensive for it. Nothing counters this creature very well except for a high-damage dealing physical faction. Growth of one a week makes them rather low in number, even when you get a 50% growth from your castle walls.
or
-Hydra: "Multi-headed monstrosities, Hydras are hard to kill and they rarely stay dead. Their regeneration allows them to regrow lost heads and sections of their body rapidly. The only way to make sure damage dealt stays permanent is to cauterize the wounds with fire. That is, if you can get the torch past the eight snapping, tearing and shifting heads."
Appearance: See Darklord's H7 version. (blatant plagiarism ;P)
Stats: Average attack, high defense, above average damage, very high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--No enemy retaliation: Enemies don't have the option to retaliate against any of the Hydra's attacks.
--Eight-headed attack: Up to eight stacks adjacent to the Hydra are targeted in a single attack or retaliation.
--Greater retaliation: Hydras heal 75% of their maximum hp at the start of every turn. Regeneration can resurrect dead Hydras. Canceled if the damage dealt is fire damage.
--Dark fighter: Underground battles have no effect on battle for this creature.
Large creature: Hydra stacks take up a two by two hex space.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Average
Strategy: Send them into the enemy. Most factions don't have the ability to permanently kill off the Hydras short of actually destroying the entire stack in a single turn... Basically impossible. Even in low numbers, a surrounded stack of hydras could eradicate a good amount of creatures, since they can attack everything around them and deal a good amount of damage. Their only really weak point it their slowness. Higher numbers than the dragons by 1 a week (once fortifications are made...).
Preserve
Preserve creatures all fall into the basic category of "Strike before being struck." Their damage ranges are all over the board, but generally a creature with a damage rating of "High" has a large range and a creature with a rating of "low" has almost no damage range. Most creatures are very, very fast. Growth is about average.
Core:
-Wolf: "Wander the woods at your own risk, my son, but never do so at night. Things that wander out there are feral, elves no longer control nature as they once did. And hope that if something hunts you, it does not do so in a pack..."
Appearance: Large, feral grey wolf. Eyes are purple or blue (depending on if you choose the Fae or the High Elves).
Stats: Average attack, low defense, high damage, average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Howl: Lowers enemy moral by 1 while present on the battle field.
--forest creature: Unaffected by the forest terrain.
Move type: Walker
Cost: low
Growth: Average
Strategy: A very basic creature, the wolf's naturally low defense is bolstered by your hero's naturally high defense, so its weakest point is covered. High damage is slightly betrayed by average damage, but this creature is still definitely a strike first creature.
-Hunter: "We give you the right to walk our forest paths, but while you do so you are bound to our laws. Know that no twig cracked underfoot, no leaf that has been disturbed and no fire goes unnoticed. Criminals will be shot. Survivors will be shot again."
Appearance: Elf in a Legolas-esqu suit with a large longbow.
Stats: High attack, low defense, high damage, very low health, average speed. Shots almost inexhaustible.
Abilities:
--Shooter: The hunter can make indirect attacks.
--Double shot: The hunter shoots twice when attacking indirectly (unless one shot will finish the enemy).
--Forest stalker: Gains invisibility for 2 turns on a forest battle. Also, the Hunter is immune to forest terrain penalties, and is 10% more effective at hiding behind obstacles.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Average
Strategy: In a battle's tactics phase, hide them behind obstacles! Just putting that out there... On home terrain, the Hunter can be deadly, since the first attack (at the very least) has a good chance of going off before the enemy can spot and destroy the hunters. Hunters die very quickly when they are caught out in the open... Double shot gives them great damage from range.
and
-Blade Dancer: "Elven Swords-Masters get their skills from generations of honing their art. Over the years, it has become abundantly clear that the females are far better at the job than males, though some exceptions are present as Leon proves. Blades masters are a whirlwind on the battle field, sweeping past all defenses and at least wounding everyone that stands in between them and their target."
Appearance: Unarmored elf with two short, curved blades and a third, larger, blade on their back. Female.
Stats: Low attack, high defense, average damage, average health, very high speed.
Abilities:
--Whirlwind rush: Enemies along the blade dancer's path are hit by the blade dancer for 10% damage, no retaliation. If the enemy is large, then it will be struck for as many new tiles as the blade dancer runs past (up to 4).
--War wheel: The blade dancer deals damage to all creatures around it. Sort of a Link spin-attack ripoff.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: Core creature with the highest survivability in the Preserve lineup, the Blade dancer is a fast creature that works best if given a large amount of room to move. They could, theoretically, deal 110% damage to every enemy creature in a single attack if given one space to move and if they were trapped in a cube of enemy stacks. For all of this, the Blade dancer has low offensive power because of its low attack power. Price tag and growth make it a very nice creature.
or
-Pixie: "In the years of torment that have transpired, the land itself has become tainted. The Pixies directly show how far that taint had come, twisted by dark magics and almost driven mad. Their darting forms do not allow the enemy a chance to retaliate and they can fly over the highest of walls."
Appearance: H5 Faerie, but with black and purple skin. The roots on her are rotted, and the glowing bugs hovering beside her are red. Wings are visible as red butterfly-like membranes.
Stats: Low attack, below average defense, average damage, below average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Flyer: Pixies are able to fly over and land on obstacles and walls.
--No enemy retaliation: Enemies may not make a retaliation on the Pixie stack.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Low
Growth: High
Strategy: The weakest core in the preserve Lineup, the pixie is rather useless. Though it does unlock the path for the Doppelganger and the Dendrite, the choice of Pixie makes for hard early game creeping. The swarm creature, which is like almost every Preserve creature rather fast.
Elite:
-Unicorn: "Unicorn. A horse with a horn. A horse that wards magic, with a horn. A horse that generates a field of anti-magic, that stabs people and blinds them with its brightly glowing horn... Though the elves do not see it, they are slowly loosing their hold on these creatures."
Appearance: A bleedin' unicorn. One of the least inspired creatures of yore ever created.  Horn is white if you choose the high elves, purple if you choose the Fae.
Stats: Good attack, good defense, high damage, high health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Magic damper: Unicorn and creatures around the unicorn have 25% magic resistance. ((Max resistance = 70%))
--Blinding attack: Attacks have a 10% chance of blinding enemies for 3 turns.
--Large creature: Unicorns take up 4 spaces on the battlefield.
--Forest creature: Unaffected by the forest terrain.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: low
Strategy: I somewhat hate these guys... Very generic. It is apparently a bit popular and hard to make a Sylvan/ Nature based faction without them. Max resistance for creatures that don't have natural spell immunity is 70% and cannot be raised farther, not by all the stack-spliting and skill grabbing in the world, but for a hero without the resistance skill fighting a spell-casting enemy faction, the unicorns can come in handy. Also, blind can effect up to 3 stacks at a time, so if you are lucky you can disable a good chunk of an enemy's army rather quickly. Slow for the Preserve lineup.
-Great Eagle: "Obviously, a giant flying eagle carried me here! Look, you can see it over there! I love how the elves were able to convince them to join the defense of the forestland! ... Even if the things scare the bejesus out of me..."
Appearance: Giant brown and grey eagle with ribbons tied to their feet. Ribbons are green or purple, depending on the faction choice.
Stats: Average attack, average defense, low damage, average HP, very high speed.
Abilities:
--Flyer: This creature may move over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Carry: If the Eagle stack has 1/2 the number of allied small creatures in an adjacent space, it may pick up the stack and move with the stack to a new location. At the end of the turn the stack is released in an open adjacent space. Cannot attack on the turn it uses this action.
--Canto: The Eagles may move any extra spaces they had left after an action. Example: Eagles move 1 space and attack. They may move eight spaces after the enemy retaliation.
--Large creature: The Eagle takes up four spaces.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Very low
Growth: Very high
Strategy: The fastest and most numerous of the elites, eagles are weak in battle statistics, but with their growth they may transport the core creatures of the Preserve faction with ease into battle. They could also transport the Druids and Doppelgangers into battle. Eagles are really just transports for your slower or less mobile creatures.
and
-Druid: "High elven elder warriors and seers of the elves who have become so attuned to nature that they use it in the defense of their homeland. They maintain the balance between order, chaos, life and death in the forest. Druids are the ruling elite of the High Elves, and so they naturally are repulsed by the Fae's destructive, chaotic and dark nature."
Appearance: Green cloaked elf that holds a withered staff. The druid is tall and hunched over from age. Long white hair falls from the hood. Has a wolf companion under his left hand.
Stats: Average attack, low defense, above average damage, Low HP, average speed. Shots few.
Abilities:
--Shooter: The druid may make indirect attacks
--Caster:
---Lightning bolt: Deals 30+30*# of Druids/5 damage to one target creature stack.
---Gust: Lowers enemy flyer speed by one and initiative by five. Raises ally flyer speed by one and initiative by five. Lasts the entire battle.
---Summon Wolf: Summons 10+5*#of druids/5 number of wolves to the battlefield for the duration of the combat. Wolves are unsummoned at the end of the battle.
--Wild empathy: Wolves, Unicorns, Eagles and Green Dragons all have their moral increased by two and initiative increased by five as long as a living stack of druids is present on the battlefield.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: A great support creature, the druid is powerful when combined with your animal forces. Also, with your flying creatures present the druid can further enhance his bonuses by using the spell "Gust" to add even more speed (yes, the chain gets ridiculous). Druids have almost no melee potential whatsoever, so it is suggested that you keep things that would kill them at least one space away and that you take out the strongest shooters quickly. Low health and low numbers do not bode well for this rather good creature.
or
-Doppelganger: "'Now the Fae present us with an interesting problem. Trust me, this is a problem. Some of the elves have tapped into some strange chaos magic of some kind, and they are able to change their shape at will. This includes taking on human form. Now-'
'You are sure that they're elves, sir? 'Cause I've heard of these doppelgangers myself. They are ancient magics, sir, not chaos magics. They are the elements and the will of Sylanna's chosen in the flesh is what they say sir.'
'And who's this ''They'' you speak so highly of?'
'The wizards, sir.'"
Appearance: In human form (also known as the base form), a man in banded armor with a falchion in one hand. Has gold eyes and is wearing a light, open cloak (think Aragorn).
Stats: Subject to change at all times.
Abilities:
--Shapeshift: The doppelganger is unique in the fact that it constantly changes shape as need arises. Each shape has different stats and abilities. Damage from one form carries over as a % to the next form.
---Human form: Starting form. Average everything but health, which is high. Ability is Parry: Takes 15% less damage from physical sources.
---Bear form: High health, damage, defense and attack. Very low speed. Large creature.
---Wolf form: High speed and damage, average everything else. Ability, Maul: Ignores 20% of enemy defense.
---Falcon form: High speed, low health, average everything else. Gains the ability "Flyer"
---Viper: High defense, above average damage and speed, average everything else. Gains the ability Poisonous attack III: Attack deals damage and poisons enemy for 3*# of Doppelgangers in lasting damage for three turns. Undead are immune.
---Fire form: High attack and damage, low defense, average everything else. Gains ability Fire shield: Deals 15% damage back to attacker before retaliation occurs, or after an enemy retaliation on the Doppelgangers.
---Dark form: High health and defense, low attack. Gains ability Hexing attack: Inflicts a lvl 1-2 dark curse on enemies that the doppelganger damages in an attack or retaliation. Curse lasts for 5 turns.
Move type: Variable
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: Too many possible strategies to put down, the Doppelganger is all-purpose and can fill in any holes that your hero fails to. The best counter to doppelgangers? None. Shifts too much for there to be an effective one.
Champion:
-Green dragon: "The true aspect of Sylanna's will, the green dragon is a proud protector of the High elven people. Of all the dragons, it is easily the fastest and it has a powerful resistance to elemental magics sent against it. The green dragon's spit is acidic and melts away any armor."
Appearance: H5 actually made a very good one. Might be one of my favorite creatures appearance wise from a HOMM game...
Stats: Above average attack, above average defense, above average damage, high health, very high speed.
Abilities:
--Flyer: The Green dragon may fly over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Child of Sylanna: The green dragon is immune to all fire, water, earth and electric spells.
--Acid breath: Can damage an enemy stack behind the target stack. Also, lowers damaged enemy defense by 20%. Cumulative effect.
--Large creature: Takes up four tiles on the battlefield.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: High
Growth: Average
Strategy: Though weaker in most stats than the angel, the Green Dragon could still easily give it a run for its money. Abilities and speed give the green dragon an edge over most champions since blesses can still effect the green dragon and direct damage spells do not. green dragons are resilient to death, and they can absolutely destroy enemy defense. Not easy to defeat without a few losses because of the speed.
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-Dendrite: "For the Fae, even the trees will fight. You high elves have lost your way, we are the new order."
Appearance: This
Stats: Average attack, Very high defense, below average damage, very high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--Entangling roots: Enemies damaged by the Dendrite have the spell "entangling roots" cast freely on them. they remain rooted until the Dendrite is no longer adjacent to them. Passive.
--Ingrain: The dendrite becomes immobile, but gains magic resistance 50% and 50% regeneration. Also gains 30% more defense.
--Large creature: Takes up four tiles on the battlefield.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: The only slow creature in the Preserve lineup, the Dendrite is a wall, a wall, a wall. They are also a tank, tank, tank. They should be used to defend castles and primary targets. Also, getting an enemy to waste a retaliation on them is another viable strategy.
Barbarian
barbarians are tough, but generally have very few abilities. They all have a natural resistance to magic (10%) and they all have high damage with low ranges. (I might actually assign number values to them eventually.) Barbarians have average speed and low numbers comparatively, though town development is fast. A very might-based faction.
Core:
-Raider: "Basic half-breeds are no better than mongrels. They fight through cowardly means beneath the True-Blood. Pathetic."
Appearance: Small, malnourished lizardman with a handaxe. Feral look in its eye.
Stats: High attack, above average defense, average damage, above average health, above average speed.
Abilities:
--Backstab: Deals 20% extra damage to creatures that have already used their retaliation this turn.
--Blend: Turns invisible for two turns unless an enemy moves adjacent to the Raider stack.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: Try to get one of your stronger units to take the punishment of an enemy retaliation before using the raiders to maximize damage. They and the Razor-racs are the two weakest creatures in the barbarian lineup.
-Razor-rac: "Small, darting creatures darted all around the knight, moving too fast for him to target anything. Once in a while, a small blur ran from the foliage and made a minor scratch to some part of the Knight's body, tearing the armor, flesh and bone that he had. Eventually, the knight fell, and then the battle was over... but the feast had just begun."
Appearance: Small, about shin high, the Razor-rac looks like a velociraptor with feathers. It is has green, black, white and red feathers, and a pair of rather long talons on its back legs.
Stats: High attack, low defense, low damage, average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Swerve: Active ability, channeling. While this ability is activated, the Razor-rac takes 20% less damage from physical attacks, but looses two points of speed.
--Darting attack: The Razor-rac's takes only 50% damage on retaliations.
Move type: Walker
Cost: low
Growth: High
Strategy: Swarm creature, The Razor-rac's abilities help it stay alive despite the almost non-existant survivability of this creature. speed and attack, as well as the darting attack ability, work together to clearly state that this is a first strike creature.
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-True-blood: "Great, winged and regal creatures, the Dragonite True blood are ferocious on the battlefield. With the strength of the dragons running in their veins, True blood warriors are known to send their foes flying back with each strike. Few are able to kill a single soldier in one-on-one combat."
Appearance: With dragon-kin. Has large, whole wings and carries a giant blade that it uses both hands for on attacks. Wears silver armor. About 3 meters tall.
Stats: Average attack, high defense, high damage, very high health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Flyer: May land on or fly over obstacles and walls.
--Force attack: Sends enemies back by one space when the True Blood deals melee damage.
--Fire and Ice resistance: The True Blood takes 50% less damage from fire and water spells.
--Armored: Immune to defense lowering effects and spells.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: The strongest core creature of all the factions. Force attack can be both useful, because it moves the creatures defending enemy shooters one space back, but it is also bad because the attack will prevent the True Blood from blocking shooters. Incredibly durable and very powerful once it reaches the enemy, the True blood is weak to curses.
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-Blood letter: "I'm telling you what we saw, the red drago-whatevers attacked a force of our militia men that outnumbered them five to one. For every soldier or creature that fell in battle, the rest of the reds fought with more and more fury and fervor, until of the one hundred beasties that attacked there were only ten left. By that time, the last of our militia fell as well, and the battle was over."
Appearance: A 2.7 meter tall dragon man, the Blood letter is a red version of the True blood, though wings are torn and the armor is rust-colored. wields two wicked looking scimitars.
Stats: High attack, average defense, high damage, average health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Scent of blood: For every creature that the Blood letters kill and for every blood letter that dies, the Blood letter stack gains 1% more damage per attack for the duration of the battle.
--Fire resistance: Fire damage is lowered by 50% and fire attack damage is lowered by 25%.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: A meat grinder that deals more damage the more meat it grinds. Blood letters are powerful in longer battles, though for a very long time they would loose out to the True Blood. Exploit their lack of flying and their average speed if you must fight them.
Elite:
-Berzerker: "Members of both the True and Half blood societies send their most fearsome and their most battle-crazed warriors to fight in the Berzerker corp. In this troop, there is no separation based on how thick or thin your blood is, the only way to control the Berzerkers is to have them lead each other. Their mental state drives them to be wild, uncontrollable. Even magic cannot dent their fury."
Appearance: Two dragonites, one Half blood and one True blood. They carry a waraxe and a poleaxe respectively, and they both wear the bare minimum armor.
Stats: Very high attack, low defense, high damage, above average health, average speed.
Abilities:
--Berzerk: Unaffected by the berzerk spell and mind control. Creatures have a 50% chance of moving and attacking on their own. Never attacks friendly units.
--Sweeping attack: deals damage to creatures adjacent to the berzerker and its target. Deals 50% damage to enemies not targeted directly.
Move type: Walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Average
Strategy: Hard to control, their cost and growth tell you their survivability rate. Even in sieges the Berzerkers will rush out to fight the enemy though the walls are the only thing saving them. Berzerkers are the only elite/ champion of the Barbarians that not only has low defense but also only slightly better than average HP. Shoot them in the head if you are going to fight them and concentrate fire on these creatures.
-Tyrant Lizard: "Large, nasty things that bleed a long time before they die, the Tyrant Lizards keep to their namesake by trampling all opposition underfoot."
Appearance: A T-Rex, red and white in color with a ridged spine.
Stats: High attack, below average defense, very high health, high damage, low speed.
Abilities:
--Trample: The Tyrant Lizard may make a special move-attack that targets a non-adjacent enemy stack at least three spaces away but still in the move range. The TL will stomp the stack before attacking, dealing 20*TL damage to the stack if it is small and 15*TL if it is large. This can only be used on non-adjacent creatures.
--Large creature: The Tyrant Lizard takes up four hexes on the battle field.
Move type: Walker
Cost: High
Growth: Low
Strategy: A strong creature betrayed by a lack of abilities (funny how that works, isn't it?) and rather low growth, Tyrant Lizards are purely offensive and retaliation/ damage soaking creatures.
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-Knight: "Eldest of the True-Blood Warriors and the most elite, the Dragonite Knights are known for their ferocity in battle, but also their control and their strict code of conduct and honor. They will not stand for cowardice among their foe, and exposing your back to them is a quick way to loose your head."
Appearance: This with white armor.
Stats: Average attack, high defense, high damage, high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--A coward's reward: Enemies that attack/are attacked by the Knight (Or adjacent at the end of the turn) are considered "Engaged" in combat with the Knight. If an enemy engaged with the Knight is about to move to a non-adjacent space, then the Knight gets a free attack for 70% damage on the stack.
--Cleave: Attacks ignore 15% of enemy defense.
--Flyer: The Knight may fly over or land on obstacles and walls.
--Magic resistance: All magic is 40% less effective.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Very high
Growth: Low
Strategy: Great for pinning key targets, since enemies that try to run away from them suffer damage. They are also good at penetrating enemy defense and are strong against spell casters.
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-Wyrm: "Serpents thought dead slither through the earth, burrowing and creating tunnels for their allies to use. In truth, the Dragonites are allies of the creatures, not masters like with the others. The Wyrm's poison and its crushing coils made it a valuable asset... and ensured that attempting to tame the beasts would be suicide."
Appearance: This.
Stats: Average attack, average defense, average damage, below average health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Tunneler: The Wyrm may make passages under walls, moats and obstacles that will remain until the spell "Earthquake" is cast or until the end of battle. All walking creatures may move through these tunnels as they would normally, flying creatures may not.
--Lethal poison attack: Attacks made by the Wyrm will apply a poisoning effect of 8 per Wyrm. Enemies take 8 damage per wyrm that damaged them at the beginning of their action for three turns.
--Coil: The Wyrm looses the ability to move when this attack activates. The Wyrm may target one creature stack. While targete, the stack cannot move, suffers 12*Wyrm damage per turn and takes 200% damage from retaliations made by Wyrms. Coil may be deactivated at any time.
--Large creature: Wyrms take up four hexes on the battlefield.
Move type: Burrower/ walker
Cost: Average
Growth: Low
Strategy: Invaluable in a siege, the Wyrm is also adept at stopping a single target from moving at all. Poison is a nasty effect, and when you add in the extra damage from coil, you can see their true destructive potential.
Champion:
-White Dragon: "Ancient and venerable, the dragons of ice are known for stocking up caves full of knowledge and texts. They are slow to anger, but are deadly when properly enraged. Their breath chills to the bone, while their skin protects against all the elements."
Appearance: Giant, feaking, white, dragon with ice crystals growing from/ on it. Blue, glowing eyes.
Stats: Low attack, Very high defense, average damage, Very high health, low speed.
Abilities:
--Freezing breath: Much like acid breath, instead of damaging armor, attacks will decrease enemy initiative and speed by 10% per attack.
--Frozen aura: Enemies around the Whit dragon are slowed for 20% and take 60*white dragon damage per turn.
--Elemental resistance: All elemental magics and attacks deal 50% damage to the White Dragon.
--Flyer: May fly over or land on obstacles and walls.
--Very large creature: Takes up a six hex area.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Very high
Growth: Low
Strategy: Use them as the tank and blocker they are. Ice dragons can bog down the fastest of Champions, reducing their speed to near nothing without limit. They are strong vs. elemental magics.
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-Red dragon: "Red dragons are said to be born in the hearts of volcanoes, drawing breath in the first great eruption that gives birth to them. Where they fly, fire rains down on the land. They burn so brightly that even stone melts with a mere whiff of its breath."
Appearance: A burning, red orange dragon with green eyes.
Stats: Very high attack, low defense, High damage, low health, high speed.
Abilities:
--Incinerate: 20% chance of dealing 80% more damage and damaging enemy defense by 50% for the remainder of the battle.
--Fire rain: If the red dragon flies over a creature stack, that stack receives 60 damage per Red dragon.
--Fire breath: Attacks deal full damage to enemy stacks behind the target stack.
--Immunity to fire: Fire attacks and spells deal no damage to the Red dragon. the red dragon may land in Lava in a battle.
--Flyer: May fly over and land on obstacles and walls.
--Very large creature: Red dragon takes up six hexes on the battle field.
Move type: Flyer
Cost: Very high
Growth: Low
Strategy: Fast, powerful and worth the cost, the Red dragon is a very worthy alternative to the White dragon. Definitely attack and movement oriented, it complements the Blood Seeker's attack based tree very nicely.
Stronghold
Like all good Orc factions, the Stronghold has some rather decent to very good creatures. Unlike most games, though, the stronghold orcs have access to three very powerful magics, so that changes the roles of the creatures a little bit. Like in H5, stronghold creatures have a "Blood rage" ability that gives them increased combat abilities. Unlike H5, this blood rage does not absorb damage (thus preventing invincible chains), nor do your units loose it when they are attacked. Blood rage is very quickly lost when you tell your creatures to wait, defend or they get negative moral. Damage ranges are average, and growth rates tend to be at least above average.
Academy
Fortress
Necropolis
Renegades
Tainted
Inferno
Neutral
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Yeah in the 18th century, two inventions suggested a method of measurement. One won and the other stayed in America.
-Ghost destroying Fred
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