Ideas for other Civilizations (which would probably need massive artwork developed sadly):
Takasic: A race which in appearance would be likened to a ringworm almost. Long, flat bodies, with 6 arms. Not 4 legs and 2 arms like a Centaur, but a full on 6 arms, and no conventional legs. Due to massively non-humanoid body structure they tend not to care "which end is up." This is due to the fact that they are a subterral race. Not subterranean, which implies caves, but a subterral, they actually live within the earth, much like an earthworm, who travels through the earth but does not leave a tunnel system in it's wake.
This race would be newly emergent into the world of Erebus having been developed in the ground far below the permafrost during the Age of Ice, and only just now has the land softened enough that they can make their way to the surface. Being as they have 6 hands (with 2 opposable digits, basically a thumb on each side of the hand), they are master craftsmen, surpassing even the dwarves in quality and durability of goods, and surpassing even the elves in beauty and form (due to hightened manual dexterity).
Mechanics wise I would suppose the following:
- Do not build roads, but all units treat all tiles as if they had roads on them (not sure if you can easily force traderoutes to exist without roads though).
- Suffer major penalties for crossing rivers, to include use of all movement points to do so.
- No sailing/seafaring techs at all. Can never work sea tiles nor cross the water. This may of course cause major issues for gameplay, but is perfect flavor-wise. So maybe still allow them the most basic of cargo ships just so they can actually survive an island-heavy map.
Cledarn: A Floral Race, the Treants are to them what the Apes are to us. Due to photosynthesis requirements, they absorb light in a 360 degree field, due to sentience they can process this as information as well as food. Hence they have incredibly hightened senses.
While Fauna breed and reproduce in fairly linear fashion, Flora are not quite so limited:
- They can send out shoots underground, a process much like growing an extra limb, which happens to be a couple cities away from the rest of you. If the underground connection is severed (willfully or otherwise) then so is the mental connection, thus resulting in a split which causes for the 1 entity to now be 2 entities, though each shares similar memories up until the point of the split, and will likely continue to grow in parallel as they still WERE the same person.
- Reproduction can also be done through clippings, in which case once the clipping has developed sufficiently it does start as a completely new entity into the world, it must experience life from a blank slate and figure things out as a newborn, though it possesses the advantages of the physiology of what it was clipped from. The advantage to a clipping however is that it need not value the placement of its roots and solidify itself to a single location, but it is also better than seeding because it can be custom selected as the best portions of a once great, but now fading, elder Cledarn.
- And of course there is the standard cycle of seeding, which will result in a very similar reproduction to that of Fauna.
Mechanics wise I suppose the following:
- As most of the minds are connected, communication and exchange of ideas is vastly improved. Hence so is tehcnological development.
- Cities cannot build much of anything. Units are spawned automatically every few turns and can be developed from a baseline set by the city.
- Buildings are all created by settling a unit into the city (putting down roots), various promotions are required to be capable of creating various buildings, as well as the appropriate Technology. Each building can enable faster generation of new Cledarn, or a more Robust version when they are created
- Units must upgrade from the baseline units that spawn, but can also downgrade into multiple units of a lower tier which will share current promotions, but start at 0 XP
Sar: An Avian race. The Sar value freedom and beauty above all else. As a race they are incredibly claustrophobic, needing to know that they have the freedom to soar away at any moment. Their wings are able to wrap around their torso when they are forced to be landbound, thus leaving them essentially with only 2 limbs at the time. Their claws are zygodactyl (2 forward, 2 backward) plus an additional pair of much larger claws extending from mid-calf. The hip joints are rotary joints and there are 4 double-bend joints (knees, but able to bend in either direction) along the legs, thus allowing them to utilize their legs effectively for manipulation of tools, but making them almost useless for mobility.
Mechanics I suppose:
- All units have Flying promotion from the start.
- Workers are absolutely horrible for workrate. Again I would say that roads ought not be needed for trade-routes to be established, as the Sar themselves wouldn't ever use them. But I suppose other races would still require them, so could be required still pretty easily (same goes for Takasic above)
- Massive withdrawal chances on all units
Voviel: A 3 legged Aquatic Race. Each leg is bell-shaped when standing, but "unrolls" like a tongue when walking (slithering like a slug more aptly stated). Additionally there is a second set of "limbs" protruding from the armpit which control a flap of skin spanning from torso to fore-arm, primarily utilized for swimming.
The race is quad-gendered, XY chromosomal (Male) fertilize the eggs, YX chromosomals (Female) generate the eggs, while the YY chromosomals (Etir) bear the egg to conception, then the XX chromosomal (Masri) carry infants to maturity in a marsupial fashion. Due to the more involved gestation process birthrates are very slow, but family structures are incredibly tight-knit.
Mechanics I suppose
- All units possess water-walking promotion and have vastly enhanced movement rates in the ocean
- Cities suffer a penalty if not coastal or irrigated
- Units cost more to produce, but all of them gain XP over time (stretching on this one, can't think of how to reflect the family structure)
. I originally looked at adding the tribal cityset for the Chislev but chickened out after looking at how LSystem worked.
