Also interesting. For this one, why not make your own unique race instead of using orc, troll, minotaur, etc.?
But truth be told, I'd probably be out with this option. Warfare-only NESes simply don't interest me, which is why I have also avoided the new Warhammer NES. Too board-game-y in my honest opinion.
As a natural builder, I am such a minority here, though. So don't listen to me (colonization cough cough).
Heh, I'm a builder myself. To date I don't think I've ever tried any other strategy in a game that permits me building up my glorious empire! Perhaps I am overstating the importance of war in this NES. War is the staple, yes, and you'll be ordering around troops, yes, but there is still a great deal involved with domestics... WHICH LEADS ME TO PERSONAL STATS AND THE ONE EMPIRE
Personal Stats
To the warlords only three things matter: Reverence, Renown, and Right-to-Rule. Reverence is a warlord's respect for the old powers present in the One Empire: the Queen and Prophet. Follow their directives and a warlord's reverence will increase, work counter to the wishes of the Queen and Prophet and reverence will decrease. Seems simple, doesn't it? Reverence, however, can also be gained through adhering to The Warpath, the ancient creed of the player's people.
The Warpath are a set of five rules that have been passed down for hundreds of generations and has never gone out of favor. Perhaps this is because they are just vague enough to be universal across all eras.
I. The Warrior is first The Beggar. The man who asks without need behind his words is the worst man; the man who asks only when necessary is the worthy man.
II. The Warrior is second the Servant. The man who serves only himself is the worst man; the man who serves those higher is the worthy man.
III. The Warrior is third the Peasant. The man who shrouds himself thinks himself higher than all is the worst man; the man who thinks himself nothing is the worthy man.
IV. The Warrior is fourth the Son. The man with no family is the worst man; the man strengthened by his blood is the worthy man.
V. The Warrior is last the Warrior. The man who does not hone himself is the worst man; the man who tempers himself as he tempers his blade is the worthy man.
So should a warlord consistently demonstrate that he (or she) adheres to these codes than they may generate Reverence independent of the Queen and Prophet. This, of course, puts the leaders of the One Empire in an uncomfortable place. Reverence can be also been seen as a kind of currency, players may expend a little bit of it to acquire gifts of EP, units, artifacts, gallants, and even preferential choice of missions. Spending Reverence causes a player to seem a little bit weaker in the eyes of others, causing them to lose some of their Right-to-Rule, but Reverence earned independent of the One Empire can increase a warlord's Right-to-Rule and still be used to cash in one gifts from the homeland!
Right-to-Rule gained via Reverence gained by following The Warpath is always higher than the Right-to-Rule lost via gifts from the homeland. Of course the gifts are given begrudgingly and the Queen and Prophet may begin to see the warlord as a threat.
Renown is a warlord's reputation and comes in two flavors: deeds and misdeeds. Both deeds and misdeeds count towards the warlord's lump sum of Renown, but a warrior who is known for +50 misdeeds will be seen as a tyrant despite his +20 deeds. Of course a warlord can straddle the line and try to balance out their deeds and misdeeds, but there are few 'neutral' factions in the world and more benefits can be earned by picking a side. Renown cannot be spent directly like Reverence can, but it can indirectly attract allies to the warlord's cause.
Last is Right-to-Rule. It is gained in all manners of ways ranging from conquering cities, signing treaties, beating insurmountable odds, etc--but all of these actions must be down independent of the wishes of the Queen and Prophet. You have to poke the bear to gain Right-to-Rule. Right-to-Rule determines how likely a warlord can expect people to flock to their banner if they decide to go independent. Furthermore, it determines the likelihood of a revolt in a conquered settlement. So a warlord
has to go against the wishes of the Queen and Prophet if they wish to rapidly expand their influence.
Or a warlord can pick and choose their targets and keep a small, efficient realm and still stay in the good graces of the Queen and Prophet.
Now, you may be asking--how can a builder or someone not oriented towards warwarwar play this NES? Yes, I encourage players to expand and form their own mighty kingdoms, but I also want to allow for players to build up a formidable realm without blood being shed unnecessarily (see: The Warpath, I). To this end the One Empire plays an important role.
Queen and Prophet
Though the One Empire remains off-screen, its shadow looms large over the NES. As mentioned above the Queen and Prophet can be pandered to in exchange for rewards, but even if a player is going the route of rebellion that player
must complete the tasks given to them by the One Empire until they have successfully established themselves as independents.
Each player is generally assigned 1 to 2 missions at a time and these missions must be completed at some point. The Queen and Prophet understand that their warlords are unruly beings, and thus allow them some measure of agency, but all players definitely are kept on a leash. How long that leash happens to be is determined by the player's actions and how much of a threat they are perceived to be. A player seen as a potential rebel may be assigned a suicidal task in the hopes that the player expunges all their supplies on that mission. Should the player outright ignore missions they garner the ire of the Queen and Prophet and risk being branded as traitors. If branded a traitor the player can be freely attacked by other players, and in fact are encouraged to because the Queen and Prophet will provide resources to the player who declares war on the traitor-player.
But how does any of this lead to a builder-style of gameplay? As mentioned above expanding too much will ultimately cause the Queen and Prophet to brand the player a traitor, so those players who choose to concentrate on a smaller realm will be backed by the One Empire. A player can care a bit less for war and more so for the development of a city because they will regularly receive troops and EP's for their loyalty and (seeming) lack of ambition.
EDIT:
Also, if I do this NES I am thinking I will have the map be akin to the 'web' maps in Blight of the Immortals. I'll definitely be altering it, for instance getting rid of continuous lines and implementing blocks between settlements (i.e. it will be 3 'blocks from X to Y), but I really like the 'web' idea because it can allow for a slightly more strategic game. Also also that way I can make the map as pretty as I want without having to worry about sacrificing playability for the aesthetics!
EDIT EDIT:
I can go onto the NES idea #2 if people would like or I can continue to explain this PossiblNES.
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