Dive into Ancient Lore: A RifE Modmod

[Korias]

Dive into Ancient Lore
Dive into Ancient Lore, also known as DIAL, is a modmod for Rise from Erebus. This mod is specifically designed to pull up the ancient legends and lore from Erebus and add them to the already numerous features in RifE.

What does it bring?
DIAL adds a few new features to the mix:

• An updated form of Goodreau, the Grigori Minor Leader, adding in the new Meritocrat Trait.
• Great Heroes, World Units that are buildable the same way normal heroes are, but have no specfic religion or civilization pre-requisite. Some of these heroes are only created via events in the same way that Gaelan is created.
• Legendary Resolutions, which add lore appropriate resolutions to the Under- and Over-councils that expand on their abilities.

Timetable

This is a very tentative time table that I have set out for myself, to give you a general idea of when I am going to try to release the components of the mod by. These dates are by no means final- if something requires more balancing or I need to change something, I'll change it and push the timetable back to fix it. I wont release something until the first part is balanced.

• November 30th: Preliminary Draft of Goodreau submitted to Valk for approval.
• December 15th: Hero Pack 1 released, Final Copy of Goodreau submitted to Valk for approval.
• January 10th, 2010: Balance of Hero Pack 1 complete, Hero Pack 2 released, Overcouncil Resolutions released.
• January 31st: Balance Hero Pack 2 Complete, Balance Overcouncil Resolutions complete, Hero Pack 3 released.
• February 24th: Balance of Hero Pack 3 complete, Undercouncil Resolutions released
• March 10th: Balance of Undercouncil Resolutions complete.

Credits

• The entire RifE team, for making such an awesome mod.
• Magister, whos posts have given key insight to the workings of the mod.
• The various writers of lore for the mod, for giving me inspiration for the heroes that I'll include within the mod.
  • thomas.berubeg: Vara (Hero Pack 1)
  • KillerClowns: Korven (Hero Pack 1), Elena (Hero Pack 1), The First (Hero Pack 1)
  • thewyrm: Elise (Hero Pack 1)
  • Nikis-Knight: Shanar (Hero Pack 1)
  • Thonnas: Nurnan Delhaye (Hero Pack 1)

 

[Korias]

Goodreau
Goodreau has been a sort of pet project of mine since Notque's Minor Leaders mod, and I've tried to carry him on through the incarnations of FF and FF+. I'm not sure of how I'm going to deal with the new Alignment Axis, but it shouldn't be that hard to get him out on time. Once I've gotten a handle on exactly what Valk and the rest of the RifE team are planning on doing with the way BA and the new axis is handled, I'll post the exact specifications to Goodreau's traits and abilities.

Pedia Entry

Spoiler :

Despite the road from Junon to Midgar being the oldest in the Grigori republic, Goodreau still jumped as the coach bumped and bucked from the cobblestone path. He had ridden along it hundreds, if not thousands of times as he traveled between the cities, Midgar a place of legislature, of law, of reason, and Junon a place of commerce and trade. Between these two cities, the man had a tight grip on the running of the empire. Where Cassiel was content to stay in his terrace and philosophize, Goodreau was where he worked best- amongst the people, where he could see everything from the perspective of a citizen rather than a revered philosopher. Perhaps that was why Cassiel had left the whole business of market regulation and economics to him.
Or perhaps it was because that he was the most driven to simply do more. Where others saw taxation as a representation of interference, Goodreau saw it as an opening to expand and improve. Where before, the Grigori stayed apart from the adventurers, afraid of their exaggerated strength and skill, Goodreau saw the opportunity to create idols for the people, paragons of Cassiel’s philosophy. Where before, only the few most successful members of the society had access to the benefits of Grigori Medics, Goodreau saw an opportunity to raise the standard of living and made apprenticeship amongst the Ordo Medicos a state-sponsored program. Where before, the Grigori cities were small and distrustful, their agnosticism as fiery as the passion of a Confessor, Goodreau joined with Cassiel to open the city gates to anyone- religious or not, and let them realize that one’s faith is not needed to succeed.
“But perhaps you see why that’s the case, Sir. Help fund the temples to the One.” The Luonnotar had joined him on his journey as to not waste precious time. “Strength comes from unity, and unity can come through faith.”
“You seem to misunderstand, my brother.” Goodreau shuffled through some of the papers, flipping through the large portfolio. “The Grigori are united through their freedom. They have the freedom to chose whether or not they seek the aid of a god to do their work or whether they chose to accomplish something based on their own merit. We’re no theocracy. We’re a meritocracy.”
The other man shook his head, sighing heavily as he folded his hands. “Every man, Grigori or not, owes his existence to the One. And when the One returns, Erebus will be set in equality.” He looked into Goodreau’s eyes, his own pleading softly. “If you were to fund the temples as you had funded the Adventurers, it would prove that we were moving closer to the return.”
Goodreau gazed out of the carriage’s window, mixing together a reply so as to not damage the man's hopes. Out the window, the dark forest already filled with the ever familiar mists that permeated the swamp. But the grey haze combined with the man’s words sent a cold shiver down his spine and a familiar whisper in his ear.
“Don’t worry, father. Everything will be fine in the end.”
As he turned towards the Luonnotar, Goodreau smiled, shuffling through the papers. “We have no more room in the official budget. However, I am a merchant, and I see an opportunity here. I’ll give you a chance to spread your faith amongst the people as I have let all religions do so, and you will have a stipend to construct a temple in Midgar. But hear me well- we are no theocracy. Everyone has the right to chose. No choice should ever be made for them, whether it be man or woman, son or daughter.”

For Goodreau's information.

Spoiler Leader Statistics: Goodreau :

Civilization
The Grigori

Traits:
Emergent/Meritocrat (Emergent/Merit)
MERITOCRAT: Increases the Spawn rate by 1.4 for Adventurers.

Religious Weights
Not needed, as he is a Grigori.

Personality
Goodreau is a builder, with a focus on finances. He will focus on building commerce buildings (like the market) or buildings that give specialist slots (Like the Museum). He is an honorable fellow and will not declare at pleased. However, he will be tough to buy into going to war, and in diplomacy will always try for a fair deal. A fair deal being one in his favor, but also helpful to his friend.

Favored Civic
Liberty

Hated Civic
Slavery
Creator's Note: Why does he sound like Erebus's Abraham Lincoln?

Favored Wonder
Bazaar of Mammon, but that's a National Wonder, so any "Commerce" wonder will be just fine.

Attitude
+2 Base Attitude.

Diplomusic
I personally have it set to Winners by the group, Nuttin but Stringz, which has done some pretty amazing work with the violin. However, I'm not sure whether this is copyrighted or not, or perhaps a bit out of theme for the mod. I would suggest The Merchant Theme from the game "Secret of Evermore", as that would fit more in theme with the mod.

Diplotext
Being Written.

Defeat Quote
"We are remembered by our successes and failures. I may be remembered by my failure here, but you too will be remembered for your failure in due time."

Meritocrat
The way that the Meritocrat Trait functions is by multiplying the Adventurer total by 1.4, giving you more adventurers later on in the game as you have a larger empire.

Goodreau also has a UB Museum replacement- same cost, same effects, but provides +1 G. Prophet points. This is to show Goodreau's ties with the Luonnotar.

 

[Korias]

The Heroes
Every civilization has access to a number of heroes, from Civilization Specific, to Religion Specific, to Random Chance type heroes. This portion of the mod is designed to create a number of heroes that are avaliable to a wide variety of civs. In most cases, these heroes are avaliable to everyone, but depending on the lore, some civs may not have access to certain heroes. For example, lets look at one of the heroes from Hero Pack 1, Elena the Seraphim.

Being a Mercurian, Elena will be naturally biased towards the Mercurian Civilzation- The Mercurians receive a +10% bonus when constructing her. However, she is unbuildable by any Evil Civilization, and the Grigori. Elena is your standard Seraphim with a few perks. While she does recieve the Hero Promotion, she also starts with the Enchanted Weapon promotion, Demon Slaying Promotion, and Drill 1 and 2. She also gives the owning player a +1 Relations boost with the Mercurians. To the Mercurians, she's simply another, albiet stronger Seraphim, but to other civs, she is a valuable asset.

In order to construct Elena, there are two prerequirements: Compact Enforced must not be selected, and the building player must have access to the Righteousness tech.

Ressurection and DIAL Heroes

As of the first release, I dont plan on having a way to revive these heroes- by Hero Pack 2, I will try to get some sort of way for the Ressurection spell to revive these heroes as well as your normal heroes.

Hero Pack 1
Note: These are only a PORTION of the heroes that will be released with Hero Pack 1. I'm keeping some hidden away till I've got them fully balanced or until I release, depending on the hero in question.

Spoiler Hero Pack I :

REMEMBER: All units start with the promotions that a unit of that type normally would, as well as the Hero Promotion.

Elena

Spoiler :

Base Unit Seraphim
Base Civilization: Mercurians
Promotions: Demon Slaying, Drill 1, Drill 2, Enchanted Weapon
Tech: Righteousness
Cost: 210
May only be built by Good Civilizations.

The First

Spoiler :

Base Unit Devout
Base Civilization Infernal
Promotions: Metamagic I, Mind 2, Mobility, Divine, Ashen Veil religion
Tech: Corruption of Spirit
Cost: 190
The First was the very first follower of Agares to walk Erebus, the first to hear the whispers of forgotten lore as he succumbed to the Fallen One. For him, his mission is to seek the truth, to offer others the same hope he had. As such, he has the ability to construct a Temple of The Veil in cities without sacrificing himself.
(Base Story: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=7344537&postcount=94)

Korven

Spoiler :

Base Unit Adept (+1 Defensive Strength)
Base Civilization Amurites
Promotions Channeling 1, Enervated, Earth 1, Earth 2, Twincast, Spell Extension 1.
Tech: Elementalism
Cost: 500
“You can tell a lot about a mage by their preferred sphere. Take Korven there. Earth adept. Not too bright, but honest. He's hardworking and a bit stubborn. He might not get the spell right the first time, but he'll try again until he can do it on a whim. It takes him twice as long to learn a spell, but when he gets the hang of it he'll do it twice as well. -Adept Morin”
Korven serves as early access to Twincast, but a very powerful defensive unit as well. His hefty cost makes a detraction so that rushing Elementalism for him wont be an issue.

Elise

Spoiler :

Base Unit Assassin
Base Civilization Balseraph
Promotions Vampire Hunter (+40% against Vampires), Mobility, Blitz, Combat 1
Tech: Tracking
Cost: 120
Elise is a Calabim Exile that was smuggled out of Prespur in a Balseraph Caravan, having been spared from the feast by the actions of her now dead brother. Having been trained in the arts of assassination, coupled with her hatred of vampires, have led her to be a very potent foe against the Calabim aristocracy.

Vara

Spoiler :

Base Unit Crusader (-1 Defensive Strength)
Base Civilization Bannor
Promotions Mobility, Sentry I, Commando, Oathkeeper (+100% against Chaotic Civs)
Tech: Military Strategy
Cost: 90
Vara was an Oathkeeper for the Bannor Armies during their war with the Shieam across the Kuriotate lands. However, she was tasked by Valin to warn of Hyborem’s entrance into Erebus. She has less armor than the Crusader does, but still maintains her status as an Oathkeeper.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=7964687&postcount=314

Shanar

Spoiler :

Base Unit Swordsman
Base Civilization Lanun
Promotions Slaver (75% Chance to generate a Slave after a successful combat), Amphibious, Hidden Nationality
Tech: Way of the Wicked
Cost: 130
Captain of a crew of slavers, Shanar regularly sells his captives to whomever is willing to pay for his addiction to wine and wench alike.

Nurnan Delhaye

Spoiler :

Base Unit Blimp
Base Civilization Kuriotates
Promotions Mobility, Tactics
Tech: Construction/Engineering
Cost: 90
The first man to create a working Airship for the Kuriotates, Lord Delhaye is a great engineer in his own right, floating across the empires and using the clouds to stay hidden from the creatures hidden in the wilderness.

 

[Korias]

Legendary Resolutions

Overcouncil

Please keep in mind that these will need balancing- Feel free to comment, suggest new resolutions, ect. This is in no way the final list- there are a couple dozen more resolutions that I have in store that I have yet to submit to my balancing, as well as some of the really specific ones such as the Seige the Council (which forces all respective Council members to declare on the opposite council).

Spoiler :

Overcouncil
The Overcouncil will receive the greatest boost to their resolution list. While the Mana-ban resolutions will stay, there is a new set of additional mana regulations that help provide members with benefits. Each resolution will provide the member's capital with a building that grants the mana type in question.

• Life Mana
• Law Mana
• Creation Mana
• Spirit Mana

To help balance the Overcouncil against the Undercouncil, the player will also be able to recruit the Radiant Guard in a similar way to the Undercouncil's ability to enlist the Nightwatch. The cost for recruiting the Radiant Guard is 50 gold as opposed to the Undercouncil's cost of 25 gold for enlisting the Nightwatch.

Additionaly, there will be a series of Civic Specific resolutions. By being a member of the Overcouncil, you can propose to vote on one of the available resolutions. The head of the Council can propose certain over-arching ones, such as open borders or single currency, or the mana resolutions, but anyone may propose resolutions.


General Resolutions: These may be proposed by anyone.
Mediator's Council
Type: Building Unlock
Restriction: None

Spoiler :

The Mediator's Council is a small location where individuals can settle disputes without going through the traditional red-tape that comes from normal courthouses. The "Mediator" can be either an Overcouncil appointed Mediator, but in many cases it is often a priest of the city's most dominant religion.
Cost: 400 Hammers
Effect: +1 , Removes Unhappiness Penalty from Undercouncil Sabotage.

Worker Safety
Type: Building Modification
Restrictions: Proposing Party must have Industry Civic.

Spoiler :

-10% from Forges
+l for Forges.

Co-operative Defensive Engineering
Type: Building Modification
Restrictions: Must have Masonry discovered by proposing party

Spoiler :

-15% needed for Walls, Palisades

Art for Art’s Sake
Type: Specialist Improvement
Restrictions: Proposing Party must be running Caste System

Spoiler :

-1 in all cities
+1 Free Artist in all cities

Institutionalized Research
Type: Specialist Improvement
Restrictions: Proposing Party must be running Scholarship

Spoiler :

When everyone focuses towards the same thing, and the sharing of ideas in enforced, then everyone profits from a single man’s learning.
+5% Maitnence in all Cities
+1 :beaker: from Sage Specialists

Call to Arms
Type: Unit Creation
Restrictions: Proposing Party must be running Military State

Spoiler :

War is a necessary evil, and to have a war, troops are required.
Provides 3 units as if a Draft has occurred. +1  in all cities for the next 15 turns.

Peaceful Mediation
Type: World Effect
Restrictions: Proposing Party Must be running Pacifism

Spoiler :

Sometimes war is not the answer- it is most often a call to end the fighting suffering that gives a chance for growth.
Reduces the AC by 2

Publisher's Bureau
Type: Building Unlock
Restrictions: Proposing Party must have Liberty Civic.

Spoiler :

The publisher’s Bureau is an establishment that enables fledgling writers to have their works circulated. These bureaus truly flourish under a civilization that values Free Speech.
Cost: 525 Hammers
Effect: +1 if running Liberty, +2 , +5% :beaker:

Hall of Judgement

Spoiler :

Cost: 750 Hammers
Effect: -35% Maitnence Cost, +1 if running Social Order, small chance to grant units built in the city Law 1.

Warrior’s Code
Type: Unit Modification
Restrictions: Must be running the Conquest Civic

Spoiler :

Offense is the best defense, supposedly. By indoctrinating warriors in what it means to be a warrior, then it makes learning how to fight less foreign of a prospect. Of course, their training takes longer to teach them this extra doctrine of warfare.
All Military Units are given +1 EXP when created.
-5% for Military Units.

Guardian’s Code
Type:Unit Modification
Restrictions: Must be running the Conquest Civic

Spoiler :

Defense is the best offense, and by indoctrinating warriors in what it means to defend cities, they will often construct walls to defend their cities. However, the idea of defending that which you love will often lead them to live in their homes and be unwilling to move into Barracks.
Free Palisades in all cities. Free walls in all cities above Population 6.
+25% :Hammers: cost for Barracks.

Instate a code of Ethics
Type: Alignment Shift
Restrictions: Requires the proposing party to have the Liberty Civic

Spoiler :

Increases the alignment of all OC members by +15 on the Ethical Scale.

Instate a code of Morality
Type: Alignment Shift
Restrictions: Requires the proposing party to have the Liberty Civic

Spoiler :

Increases the alignment of all OC members by +15 on the Morality Scale.

 

[Korias]

This Post Is Reserved for Future Use

 

[Valkrionn]

Sounds interesting.

 

[Riot_Starter]

The most interesting and the feature I am looking forward to the most are the heroes open to multiple civs. This seems like such an obvious addition to the game. In a game which has both National and World wonders, these new heroes would just be World Wonder equivalent units.

The resolutions (especially Overcouncil ones) need some reworking and I'm glad someone is stepping up to try.

 

[Vermicious Knid]

I'm interested to see what you come up with.

Elena sounds fun.

 

[Breez]

The councils need more resolutions. I am looking forward to this.

 

[Valkrionn]

One thing I'd like to say about the councils... Thinking about making the UC votes depend on your population, rather than a straight one-vote-per-civ.

 

[blade117]

I realize that this will be a long time in creation, but one word Valk, and that word is merge. (At least the Heros, plz?)

 

[Valkrionn]

Actually, at the very least Goodreau. There were already plans to merge that one.

The rest, I don't know if I will or not. Not because I don't like it (I do), but because that's a big part of this mod... Wouldn't want to kill it off by merging it.

 

[Breez]

One thing I'd like to say about the councils... Thinking about making the UC votes depend on your population, rather than a straight one-vote-per-civ.

That is a lot less important to me than what it is you are voting on.

Right now the undercouncil has a option or two that are worth voting for over and over. The overcouncil need something similar. Right now after 3ish votes the overcouncil is done and votes are meaningless.

 

[Valkrionn]

I agree. Just mentioned the population voting as it could be important when he's designing new resolutions.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

One thing I'd like to say about the councils... Thinking about making the UC votes depend on your population, rather than a straight one-vote-per-civ.

Personally, I'd rather make it depend on how much you are willing to pay. It could be hard to code, but I'd like to see Undercouncil Resolutions turn from votes into bribes and auctions.


One amusing resolution I like to give both councils is the ability to dissolve the council. You can make the forced adoption of No Membership a resolution, but since once it passed you are no longer part of the council it does not stop you from starting over again. I'm not sure, but I think making everyone leave the council like this may reset all the resolutions.


The lore makes it clear that everyone at the Overcouncil is considered an equal, including vassals and their masters. I tend to think they don't look to fondly at vassalage, or at least capitulation. I'd like to see an Overcouncil resolution to liberate vassals.

Also, it might be more appropriate if there was no head of the Overcouncil, but instead every member had the opportunity to call for votes from time to time.

It could be interesting if the Undercouncil could sell vassals, or maybe force weaker members to become vassals of the strong.


It could be nice if the Overcounil could vote to make its more advanced members share technologies with the rest of the council.

One simple Overcouncil resolution could be voting to recruit Radiant Guards, the way the Undecouncil recruits Nightwatches.

The Overcouncil should be able to share maps. It could be nice if the Undercouncil had resolutions to cause their enemies to loose the maps of their lands.





If you are going to add so many new heroes, I think it would be good to rewrite the Ressurection spell so that it lets you choose which hero to resurrect. You could change it to work though an event, much like Magnidine's Hire Units spell. You could make it track the deaths of each hero instead of just counting if they are alive and have been built, but I think that would probably require adding a very large number of new feats.

 

[Korias]

That is a lot less important to me than what it is you are voting on.

Right now the undercouncil has a option or two that are worth voting for over and over. The undercouncil need something similar. Right now after 3ish votes the over council is done and votes are meaningless.

That's something I want to change with this mod- By making the councils a lasting influence in game instead of a one shot thing. While each Council will have a recruit/enlist resolution that can be done repeatedly (Radiant Guard for the OC and Nightwatch for the UC, respectively), there will be an incredibly large number of Civic-Specific resolutions that can only be brought forth if the Council Head is running that civic.

For example, if you're running the Liberty Civic as the head of the Overcouncil, you can pass a resolution that unlocks some sort of building that publishes the works of fledgling writers and philosophers, granting a culture and gold boost to cities it is constructed in. Likewise, if you're running Industry, you can pass a resolution that gives forges a +1 bonus in the form of worker safety regulations.

Likewise, The Undercouncil has Civic Specific resolutions as well. For example, the Slave Trade Resolution can only be passed if running Slavery. There is a resolution planned that gives +100% Trade Routes from increased tariffs, which can be passed if the UC head is running Foreign Trade.

Goodreau is the only planned merge in this mod- the rest is entirely up to Valk as to if the individual components get merged at all. I'm hoping to get this mod done on the timetable I stated, so that these things will come as quickly as my schedule will allow.

If possible, I might try to make a custom game option that disables the heroes if Valk wishes to merge them so players will be able to chose between the current setup and the DIAL setup.

Wall of Text

Those are some good ideas. I like the idea of forced tech sharing, as a way to improve the smaller civs.

Not too sure about the idea of the OC having no head. I suppose it could function in a similar way to the Global Congress that occurs in RFC. I do want to have the Head of the OC be able to implement things that are influenced by their civics, instead of the generic "Adopt Liberty/Republic" resolutions that are carried over from the UN in Vanilla BTS. This way, they have a "Political" platform that influences the other nations. But perhaps I can still include the civic-specific resolutions without a head of the OC, simply making that resolutions are avaliable to whomever is voting for them.

I should add some way to check to see if a resolution has passed and include that until it gets voted on again to cancel it. That way, its possible to eliminate a resolution without adopting the particular civic.

I could look into the buying and selling of vassals, but it would be a pain to code. Not sure even where to begin for that one, probably looking into the code to see when the vassalage is made and if its possible to create an effect chaging that without any severe reprecussions.


Perhaps I could have a UC resolution that bribes members of the OC to dissolve the council. The more members that pay to dissolve, the greater the number of AI players could vote. That would be a challenge, as I would have to edit the amount of gold for each leader based on their system of honor and how willingly they would accept a bribe.

As far as Heroes are concerned, you make a valid point. I'll look into seeing whether I can edit the resurrection spell as suggested.

Population Voting for the UC

That will affect some of my resolutions, especially if I were to try doing vassal-selling/switching. Thanks for the heads up on that, but thankfully the UC comes last on my to-do list so I wont have to worry about fiddling with population balances until then.

 

[Breez]

That's something I want to change with this mod- By making the councils a lasting influence in game instead of a one shot thing. While each Council will have a recruit/enlist resolution that can be done repeatedly (Radiant Guard for the OC and Nightwatch for the UC, respectively), there will be an incredibly large number of Civic-Specific resolutions that can only be brought forth if the Council Head is running that civic.

For example, if you're running the Liberty Civic as the head of the Overcouncil, you can pass a resolution that unlocks some sort of building that publishes the works of fledgling writers and philosophers, granting a culture and gold boost to cities it is constructed in. Likewise, if you're running Industry, you can pass a resolution that gives forges a +1 bonus in the form of worker safety regulations.

Likewise, The Undercouncil has Civic Specific resolutions as well. For example, the Slave Trade Resolution can only be passed if running Slavery. There is a resolution planned that gives +100% Trade Routes from increased tariffs, which can be passed if the UC head is running Foreign Trade.

All interesting.

If you can tie options to the Civic of the head of a Council, then could you also tie some to the religion of the head also?

Instead of making it always Radiant Guard and Nightwatch, make those dependent on the leaders religion.

Esus = Nightwatch
Empyrean = Radiant Guard
Order = Confessor?
Runes = Soldier of Kilmorph
Fellowship = Treant
OO = Lunatic
Ash = Ritualist?

 

[Korias]

Updated a bit with some of the planned heroes/resolutions/Goodreau changes. These are not the complete, nor final, lists. But feel free to get a sense of what I'm doing.

And remember that the OC resolutions are currently very, very, VERY tweakable. Thats maybe a third of the list, excluding the Head of the OC resolutions. I plan on giving every civic at least two resolutions they can suggest, save for civics like StW, but depending on the new Alignment system, that may change- feel free to suggest resolutions for them, or any civic.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

I'm honored! Vara was deemed good enough to be in this? Honored!

 

[Korias]

Yes, and if you feel that I've not represented her correctly, feel free to tell me what I should change.

This also reminds me- if anybody can provide the links to the stories (since in my stupidity, I forgot to record them ), then it will be greatly appreciated. Especially so I can update the credits list.