[MOD]: New Traits and Leaders for RiFE

[Valkrionn]

I just realized I've been a member of Civfanatics for over 7 years.



And yet I have a post count that is about 1/20th the size of Valk's...


I feel like I've not been posting enough...

Heh, I've been a member for just over 2 years now.

 

[25Hour]

As yet, only this particular RifE modmod uses an installer. Believe it installs in the RifE folder, rather than making it's own; Impossible to use a RifE/Mods folder, Civ doesn't support that.

I think I had it create its own folder (so it ends up looking from the Civ mod menu like a completely different mod, called RiFE-More Leaders rather than RiFE.) The setup pretty much copies RiFE, then patches over it and creates a new shortcut for it.

I just figured it'd be easier to do that than to make people create backup copies of their Assets file.

 

[Valkrionn]

Ah, didn't realize you did it that way. Works fine.

 

[Sephi]

nice work on the urbane trait, that's a really really cool idea

The Buildings tied to the trait have a conquestprob. of 100. Is that really intended? After all they aren't real buildings, more placeholders for the trait mechanic like the khazad buildings.

 

[25Hour]

nice work on the urbane trait, that's a really really cool idea

The Buildings tied to the trait have a conquestprob. of 100. Is that really intended? After all they aren't real buildings, more placeholders for the trait mechanic like the khazad buildings.

Ah! Thanks for mentioning. Yeah, that's unintended-- they should have a 0 conquest probability. It'll be fixed in the next version. (No word on that yet, by the way-- been busy IRL, with graduation and vacationing and such.)

 

[25Hour]

Ahoy! So I've got the new version finished-- we've got 4 more leaders this time around: 2 Svartalfar, 1 Luchuirp, and 1 Grigori. I've also beefed up a few of the minor leaders who sit unhappily beside major leaders with the Adaptive trait-- the two Kuriotates minors are getting free mobility for their centaurs, and Kane now gets +3 happiness from his palace, to make them actually useful alternatives to the major leaders. Let me know if you think I overdid it.

Anyway, the new leaders:

First! A Svart leader by the name of Shirc Voljah, who gets immediate retaliation on civilizations who declare war on him, by setting an all-comers bounty of 10 gold on each of their units' heads for a period of time. This makes his worldspell a bit more useful in a multiplayer context, since it means that enemies will be much more reluctant to extract vengeance for Hidden Nationality shenanigans. Plus, giving rivals incentive to declare war on your newfound nemesis can only be a good thing! (Non-multiplayer, this causes the unit to appear weaker to computer-controlled civs, so it still makes them more likely to declare war on your attacker. And, of course, you get money from everything you kill yourself.)

Second! Another Svart leader by the name of Lugatorix, who has the Dominion trait, preventing hell terrain from spreading into Svartalfar lands-- regardless of religion or alignment. What fun! Especially in the late game or if you feel like going AV. Ashen Veil elves? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS.

Third! A Grigori leader whose Great Commanders give fairly muscular bonuses to their Heroes via the Party Leader promotion. Hey, it had to happen someday-- what's a party, after all, without a Cloud or a Squall to lead them?

Fourth! A Luchuirp leader named Tempras, whose golems gain cumulative bonuses for fighting in terrain they've fought in before (3% each time). So, a given golem who's fought in Desert three times gets a +9% to fighting in desert from then on, and it only goes up from there!


As always, bug reports, balance commentary, general feedback, and wild allegations of criminality are greatly encouraged. The new patch has been posted in the OP, where the old one was.

So anyway! Now I'm thinking of having the next patch be mostly of establishing lore for these various minor/emergent leaders. The only ones I've got anything for are Caluxus and the new Shirc Volja, so really, any short snippets are appreciated for any leaders you might care to do. Or long snippets, whatever. Although I'm still quite open to trait ideas!

 

[isthmus]

The new patch has been posted in the OP, where the old one was.

Are you sure??

 

[25Hour]

Are you sure??

Okay, now it is. For real this time!

 

[isthmus]

I think the patch file is the one for the previous version
Just tried it out and no new leaders...
Or am I meant to use the full install for this version?

 

[25Hour]

I think the patch file is the one for the previous version
Just tried it out and no new leaders...
Or am I meant to use the full install for this version?

(facepalm) Ohh, I see what I did wrong. Forgot to copy the new version into the place where the .exe compiler actually reads. The new version should be up within an hour or so.

EDIT: Okay, good to go! Hopefully. 0_0

 

[Jabie]

Well I couldn't see anything about Shirc Volja, but here's an entry for Tempras for you...

Spoiler :

My time spent in Ithralia was as instructive as it was lucrative. I was nursing a sore head following a night at the gambling tables that had seen me amass not only a small collection of gemstones from a Khazad merchant whose avarice exceeded his caution, but also the smouldering kisses of an attractive native whose nocturnal proclivities would have taxed the endurance of the doughtiest resident. Fresh from the night's exertions, my skull still throbbing from the finest Dereptus Erebus has to offer, I failed to perceive a dwarf running headlong down the boulevard. Between his frantic remonstrations and my melancholic headache our first observation of the other was a collision that was violently succeeded by a closer examination of the artisanship that informs Luchuirp flagstones.

The dwarf, whose name I later learnt to beTempras, was a bulky fellow dressed in a leather smock with metal shoulder pads that bruised my ribs severely. His hair was plaited into thick braids that swung so freely I was left with the impression not so much of a dwarven sculptor, but one of the Medusae of the late Patrian epoch. Scattered across the pavement were what I first imagined to be firesticks liberated from the arsenals of the Mechanos. It was only upon closer inspection, as I handed them back to him, that I found them not be weapons as I had presupposed, but rather inventions of his own device, engraved with the runes of Kilmorph.

I had always considered Kilmorph to be one of the duller deities. Worship of Junil may have dulled the minds of the Bannor, with its endless dictates and edicts, but it had inspired their militia to valiant triumph. And for all the evil he had wrought upon Erebus, at least Mulcarn begat us the epic of Kylorin. As for the Fellowship... well I'm sure those of you who know me well enough know my opinions on their teachings. But Kilmorph, I wondered, what glory could be found in singing hymns about mud?

"Can't stop. Elgar's broken loose," Tempras snapped. "Dash that amanuensis, no rhythm at all!" He added, as if this cryptic comment would somehow dispel my mystification.

There are times when you must seek your own adventure and times when adventure will seek you out. This matter clearly fell into the latter category and despite, indeed perhaps because of, my injurious state, I felt compelled to offer the dwarf my services.

It was not difficult to trace Elgar. Tempras explained that he was an experimental model whose power was sourced from the ground itself and, although Luchuirp cities employ golems to perform the life's more trivial tasks, Tempras' golem had a distinctive gait that set him apart from his fellows. We found him outside the great temple of Kilmorph, his head bobbing in time with the soulful chants that emanated from deep within the stone edifice. Save for the subtle rotations the golem had sunk to the ground, genuflecting in devotion to Kilmorph.

"Can you keep a steady beat?" Tempras whispered as he handed a conical apparatus that appeared to be a cross between a clamp and a crossbow. "All you've got to do is press this button in three quarter time. Do you think you can manage that?"

I nodded and said that I could, the spectre of my hangover providing the necessary metronome for the matter at hand. I began to press my fingers rhythmically and the effect was almost immediate; Elgar turned to face us. Tempras withdrew the device I had mistaken for a Mechanos flame-thrower. Carefully adjusting a screw atop the mechanism, he closed one eye so he could focus better and squeezed the trigger. A blast of flame burst forth from the aperture, but it was not the destructive gout I had expected. Instead, the sculptor had calibrated his shot to heat the ground just ahead of Elgar. The golem looked up, and as it did so, Tempras whistled sharply, depressed the trigger and beckoned Elgar towards him. Elgar approached stiffly, like a hound brought to heel.

"Every stone had its own harmony, every slab of granite its own beat," explained Tempras. "It's just a question of finding the correct frequency."

Later, at his studio, I questioned Tempras further upon his creations. Music, he told me, music was the key. It galvanised his golems from being lumbering automata to creatures that would slowly adapt to their environment. Rather than encrypt his golems with mere words, he had used songs and poems to grant life to his golems, so that they would slowly attune to the harmonic resonances of Erebus itself. By heating the flagstones, he had altered the harmonic resonance and was thus able to reconnect with his creation.

Tempras politely thanked me for my assistance, before vanishing into the depths of his workshop. Beyond the curtain I could clearly hear him chastising an apprentice on the correction distribution of bass notes, and, feeling that this was my cue to take my leave, I headed to the door. As I did so, I found myself mindlessly humming an air that I had picked up from the temple. Turning to yell a final farewell as I stepped out onto the street, I glimpsed Elgar through the curtain, and, although I know I was not within his gift to do so, I could have sworn that the granite figure was smiling.
-- Tales from Erebus, Carlos Menec

 

[Randomness]

Thought of a trait idea you might want to use. It would grant a free promo. to all arcane units that gives 75% of the exp that their summon gets (curnetly it's 10%). What this would mean in gameplay, is that an arcane unit could gain large amounts of exp. from battle without risking injury. The promo. should probably reduce natural exp. gain to balance the effect. I was thinking this would work well on a Shiem leader, though a Balseraph or Amurite leader may work as well.

 

[25Hour]

Well I couldn't see anything about Shirc Volja, but here's an entry for Tempras for you...

Spoiler :

My time spent in Ithralia was as instructive as it was lucrative. I was nursing a sore head following a night at the gambling tables that had seen me amass not only a small collection of gemstones from a Khazad merchant whose avarice exceeded his caution, but also the smouldering kisses of an attractive native whose nocturnal proclivities would have taxed the endurance of the doughtiest resident. Fresh from the night's exertions, my skull still throbbing from the finest Dereptus Erebus has to offer, I failed to perceive a dwarf running headlong down the boulevard. Between his frantic remonstrations and my melancholic headache our first observation of the other was a collision that was violently succeeded by a closer examination of the artisanship that informs Luchuirp flagstones.

The dwarf, whose name I later learnt to beTempras, was a bulky fellow dressed in a leather smock with metal shoulder pads that bruised my ribs severely. His hair was plaited into thick braids that swung so freely I was left with the impression not so much of a dwarven sculptor, but one of the Medusae of the late Patrian epoch. Scattered across the pavement were what I first imagined to be firesticks liberated from the arsenals of the Mechanos. It was only upon closer inspection, as I handed them back to him, that I found them not be weapons as I had presupposed, but rather inventions of his own device, engraved with the runes of Kilmorph.

I had always considered Kilmorph to be one of the duller deities. Worship of Junil may have dulled the minds of the Bannor, with its endless dictates and edicts, but it had inspired their militia to valiant triumph. And for all the evil he had wrought upon Erebus, at least Mulcarn begat us the epic of Kylorin. As for the Fellowship... well I'm sure those of you who know me well enough know my opinions on their teachings. But Kilmorph, I wondered, what glory could be found in singing hymns about mud?

"Can't stop. Elgar's broken loose," Tempras snapped. "Dash that amanuensis, no rhythm at all!" He added, as if this cryptic comment would somehow dispel my mystification.

There are times when you must seek your own adventure and times when adventure will seek you out. This matter clearly fell into the latter category and despite, indeed perhaps because of, my injurious state, I felt compelled to offer the dwarf my services.

It was not difficult to trace Elgar. Tempras explained that he was an experimental model whose power was sourced from the ground itself and, although Luchuirp cities employ golems to perform the life's more trivial tasks, Tempras' golem had a distinctive gait that set him apart from his fellows. We found him outside the great temple of Kilmorph, his head bobbing in time with the soulful chants that emanated from deep within the stone edifice. Save for the subtle rotations the golem had sunk to the ground, genuflecting in devotion to Kilmorph.

"Can you keep a steady beat?" Tempras whispered as he handed a conical apparatus that appeared to be a cross between a clamp and a crossbow. "All you've got to do is press this button in three quarter time. Do you think you can manage that?"

I nodded and said that I could, the spectre of my hangover providing the necessary metronome for the matter at hand. I began to press my fingers rhythmically and the effect was almost immediate; Elgar turned to face us. Tempras withdrew the device I had mistaken for a Mechanos flame-thrower. Carefully adjusting a screw atop the mechanism, he closed one eye so he could focus better and squeezed the trigger. A blast of flame burst forth from the aperture, but it was not the destructive gout I had expected. Instead, the sculptor had calibrated his shot to heat the ground just ahead of Elgar. The golem looked up, and as it did so, Tempras whistled sharply, depressed the trigger and beckoned Elgar towards him. Elgar approached stiffly, like a hound brought to heel.

"Every stone had its own harmony, every slab of granite its own beat," explained Tempras. "It's just a question of finding the correct frequency."

Later, at his studio, I questioned Tempras further upon his creations. Music, he told me, music was the key. It galvanised his golems from being lumbering automata to creatures that would slowly adapt to their environment. Rather than encrypt his golems with mere words, he had used songs and poems to grant life to his golems, so that they would slowly attune to the harmonic resonances of Erebus itself. By heating the flagstones, he had altered the harmonic resonance and was thus able to reconnect with his creation.

Tempras politely thanked me for my assistance, before vanishing into the depths of his workshop. Beyond the curtain I could clearly hear him chastising an apprentice on the correction distribution of bass notes, and, feeling that this was my cue to take my leave, I headed to the door. As I did so, I found myself mindlessly humming an air that I had picked up from the temple. Turning to yell a final farewell as I stepped out onto the street, I glimpsed Elgar through the curtain, and, although I know I was not within his gift to do so, I could have sworn that the granite figure was smiling.
-- Tales from Erebus, Carlos Menec

Hot damn! This is so in next patch. Good stuff, Jabie.

Thought of a trait idea you might want to use. It would grant a free promo. to all arcane units that gives 75% of the exp that their summon gets (curnetly it's 10%). What this would mean in gameplay, is that an arcane unit could gain large amounts of exp. from battle without risking injury. The promo. should probably reduce natural exp. gain to balance the effect. I was thinking this would work well on a Shiem leader, though a Balseraph or Amurite leader may work as well.

Hmm... actually, I could definitely see doing something like this involving the Puppeteers from the Balseraphs. I didn't realize you could change the XP return rate using promotions...

 

[Randomness]

I don't know if you can either... It was just a sugestion, you have to figure out how to do it . Maybe if you ask Valkiron really nice, he'll add the tag you need in the next version. I'm sorry you thought I acually know what I'm doing .

 

[Randomness]

Wow, ideas just keep poping in my head today...
Anyway, I thought you might be able to do this one with the current coding...

Spoiler :

I've had an idea for a Malkim leader Semerkhet.

I thought it would be cool if there was a leader that followed "the old ways". This leader would be agnostic, and would have several UU (egypitan mythology based) that are linked to agnostic. He would be an emergent leader, and his starting trait would either be Spititual or Agressive. His alignment would be Nutral Lawful (0 to -50 Nutral).

Nice idea. That reminds me, though, I've been thinking of the Malakim leaders, and what each brings to the table. The Malakim have two main advantages; Deserts and Disciples.
Decius: As we know and love him; Decius is Decius.
Varn Gosam: As we know and love him. Disciples focused.
Kane: I see him as leading the Malakim too fiercely independent to kneel before a "weakling" religion like the Empyrean. He could work for a Desert focused leader. As such, I have some suggestions: Make him prefer the Runes of Kilmorph or the Order, and switch him to Expansive/Organized to allow for a large, sprawling empire in the desert, at the cost of the awesomeness of Adaptive and the synergy Varn has with the Malakim's disciple focus and his spiritual trait. The Expansive will make Flood Plains even less of a worry than before, and help him get settlers aplenty out, while the Organized, combined with either of his preferred religions will help him keep a massive empire in order; he doesn't have any directly warlike traits, but with the empire he'll be able to build, he may not need them to be a deadly opponent.
Semerkhet: I like the idea, an Emergent leader (although now built as per the Ominous Mysterious Project) to blur the line between Disciple focus and Desert focus. Should have a trait akin to Agnostic/Emperor's Cult that allows him to train a special disciple line and temples for his pagan religion. He'd need a modified version of Religious Fervor, though, being unable to adopt a state religion. We have enough religions as it is, though, and I can't see old-fashioned Malakim bothering to spread their old ways like the other religions spread their beliefs.

Valkiron liked the idea, but wouldn't do it unless leaderhead art was found, so I thought you could use this one, or find a differnt pic...

 

[isthmus]

Hmm... actually, I could definitely see doing something like this involving the Puppeteers from the Balseraphs. I didn't realize you could change the XP return rate using promotions...

I don't know if you can either... It was just a sugestion, you have to figure out how to do it . Maybe if you ask Valkiron really nice, he'll add the tag you need in the next version. I'm sorry you thought I acually know what I'm doing .

Doesn't the first promotion in the bannor chain of command give a promotion to the leading units that enhances minion XP? might be worth checking that one out.

Wow, ideas just keep poping in my head today...
Anyway, I thought you might be able to do this one with the current coding...
Valkiron liked the idea, but wouldn't do it unless leaderhead art was found, so I thought you could use this one, or find a differnt pic...

I think an "old ways" leader should be recon/mounted focused. The malakim have a lot of unique art and units on these lines so it would be cool to shift the focus of the malakim away from the disciples (as they're usually played) and more towards these lines since it showcases a different side to them. Definitely like the idea though.

 

[Valkrionn]

Doesn't the first promotion in the bannor chain of command give a promotion to the leading units that enhances minion XP? might be worth checking that one out.

Commander/Minion != Master/Slave.

Commanders use different functions from Summoners... Will check to see which tags are the same, or if there are analogs.

I think an "old ways" leader should be recon/mounted focused. The malakim have a lot of unique art and units on these lines so it would be cool to shift the focus of the malakim away from the disciples (as they're usually played) and more towards these lines since it showcases a different side to them. Definitely like the idea though.

They're getting better mounted art, too.

Planning to remove the standard mounts, though... Now that they'll have GOOD camel-mounted art, we'll be using that exclusively.

Also: The Berserker UU, the Anubis, is a good unit for the leader to want. Should give it some kind of bonus.

 

[25Hour]

Wow, ideas just keep poping in my head today...
Anyway, I thought you might be able to do this one with the current coding...

Spoiler :

Semerkhet: I like the idea, an Emergent leader (although now built as per the Ominous Mysterious Project) to blur the line between Disciple focus and Desert focus. Should have a trait akin to Agnostic/Emperor's Cult that allows him to train a special disciple line and temples for his pagan religion. He'd need a modified version of Religious Fervor, though, being unable to adopt a state religion. We have enough religions as it is, though, and I can't see old-fashioned Malakim bothering to spread their old ways like the other religions spread their beliefs.

Valkiron liked the idea, but wouldn't do it unless leaderhead art was found, so I thought you could use this one, or find a differnt pic...

Ohhh, I could see doing something like that. Egyptian mythology, eh? I could pretty easily change Religious Fervor to doing something in that flavor. A reactionary religion, centered around keeping outsiders out, rather than expanding to include them (as the Emperor's Cult does). Possibly getting bonuses based off of keeping your cities free of other religions.

Spoiler :

OH! Possibly a line of wonders, unique to that leader. Strong, and tying into the Emergent mechanic, but requiring lots of hammers to produce each (like some of the more major wonders in Civ 4.) Possibly hampering trade routes, to balance it out.

And totally something for that Anubis unit.

EDIT: Hmm... instead of trying to forge a whole new religion out of this leader, maybe I'll have it be an offshoot of the Council of Esus in theme. I've already got one idea, where you can see through the eyes of units your Nightwatch have fought (via a promotion), and the Nightwatch themselves could get sand-invisibility like the Dervishes. (QUESTION: is it possible to set the fog of war via python?) This should work better than for most civs, as the Malakim are already very defensively-oriented (with their various desert promotions and abilities).

The Anubites will have +1 holy and +1 unholy strength, to drive home the morally-grey nature of the religion. Thoughts?

EDIT 2: Hmm... perhaps if the temple of this religion spawned Nightwatch? Anyway, here's a possible picture-- I figured it looked much like an Anubite itself (so it's not out of place). The suggested leaderhead, though cool, I think might not fit with the nature of the Old Malakim religion (OMR) as I conceive it. (Although, is there anything really established about the OMR currently? Just to make sure I'm not stepping on lore here.)

 

[BiffQJ]

So I've run into what I think is a bug with this modmod(mod?)(mod?). I tend to play with Advanced Start, Wild Mana and Mana Guardians (among other things also). This usually means that my starting city is right next to some type of barbarian/demon/animal unit that is held, but I still get the red text saying that something is near my city. I don't mind that. But, there is the event in this modmod(mod?)(mod?) where barbarians are at the gate and I have two options, conscript the populace or give up all of my food. Conscripting the populace does nothing and the event repeats the next turn. Giving up my food gives up my food, but the event still repeats the next turn. Even that I can live with. But, I was playing one game and even after I destroyed the wood golem sitting in my borders (and the rest of my borders were clear), I still was getting that event. Any ideas? I really like the ideas in this modmod(mod?)(mod?), (I especially want to play with the Kurio leader who can summon dragons) but this makes it a bit difficult to play. Thanks!

 

[xeno_cws]

Same thing happened to me when playing this modmod. Except in my game there was no barb unit in my borders the event would just fire everyturn making it pretty much unplayable.