thomas.berubeg
Wandering the World
(Copied and pasted From Chamber of records)
Units and hereos
The Shadow is a very different civ: it's much more warlike, and is almost unvincible in a war - at least, against a single civ. Even the Númenoreans, after some centuries of development in a safe island with the help of valinor, would only be able to face it, not to defeat it. It shall have several units aside from it's basic orc/uruk warriors (units that replace the basic units; uruks should be the basic units of the third age), mostly fell beasts, and a large number of proper Heroes. This topic is for discussing those.
For units, we should have Werewolves (great wargs/wolves possessed by evil spirits- probably lesser maiar, or perhaps disembodied spirits that refused to go to Mandos - not lycanthropes or manlike wolves), Vampires (evil units in the shape of giant bats), Dragons (giant lizards that breath fire, without wings), Cold Dragons (like the before, but attack with claws and bites instead of breathing fire), Flying Drakes (dragons that fly and breath fire), Balrogs (powerful demons of fire and shadow, truly powerful maiar), Trolls (stupid creatures made of stone, strong but the sun brokes the spell that gives them life and returns them into stone), Ologs (smart trolls that resist the sun) and Nazgûl (men that were enslaved by the Rings of Power).
Most of these units should be national units, to avoid (too much) abuse: 6 Balrogs, 8 Nazgûl, 6 Dragons, 8 Cold Dragons, 4 Flying Drakes, 10 Werewolves, 3 Vampires (exploration units). Balrogs should upgrade into Dragons, just to avoid players to build more and more Balrogs after they are killed.
About the heroes, we should for sure have Gothmog (the lord of the Balrogs), Glaurung (the father of the dragons), Ancalagon (the greatest dragon ever), Carcharoth (the greatest Werewolf ever), the Witch King (lord of the Nazgûl); perhaps we could also have Draugluin (father of the werevolves) and Smaug (greatest dragon of the third age). Most of them are from the first age, but remember that heroes (at least, if we make them like FFH's heroes) gain experience by turn, becoming powerful until very late (unless they get killed).
We should also make some unique skills for them (like FFH's magic powers), to make them unique and to make them effective late game while don't overpowered early game. Trolls should have a promo that gives them a chance of turning into stone every turn, lets say 50% while out of your borders and 10% inside it; Werewolves shouldn't give enemies experience when killed; vampires should have poor strength, but high movement; all Dragons should be able to hypontize other units that they attack, escaping combat and making those units unable to move or attack for one round; Nazgûl should "poison" other units, making them lose life over time for some turns; the Balrogs and some powerful heroes should have the power "Doom", that makes any unit who kills them to dye also (even heroes), a powerful skill, capable of making Balrogs (units from the Age of the Stars) powerful in the late third age without have to give them too much strength.
Avatars of Sauron
These are some ideas I have for having Sauron as a playable unit. I don't know if it can be done, or how, but I tried to make it as simple as possible.
History Sauron was a powerful Maia, a angelic spirit, created before the world, and corrupted by the Dark Lord Morgoth. This way, he had several powers, between those the power to change his shape at will, and so he could trick his enemies or take the shape of terrible beasts to fight them. When his master Morgoth fell, he became a new Dark Lord, but he gradually lost his powers: he built one ring to control the Free Peoples, and had to put much of his strength into it, and lost his body in the fall of Númenor; when the Ring was taken from him, he became even weaker and incapable of assuming another corporeal form.
Description The Shadow can build, at some time of the First Age, a powerful unit that represents Sauron in the game (one Avatar of Sauron), a unit with reasonable strength and powerful skills. When this Avatar is killed, after some turns a new one, less powerful, spawns at The Shadow's capital. When this new Avatar is killed, another weaker Avatar spawns after some turns, and so on. The Avatars can have different names, like Annatar, Necromancer, Great Eye, Dark Lord, Lord of the Rings, Sauron, Gorthaur, etc.
Goals Have another unit, different, spawn some turns after one specific one is killed.
Alternatives have one unit only buildable after one is killed.
List of Avatars Each avatar has it's own skills, that should be like the spells of FFH.
Gorthaur: strength of 5 or 6, can change his shape to a Werewolf (str. 9), a Vampire (str. 2, movement 4 or 5), or a Snake (can poison another unit, making it suffer damage over time).
Annatar: str. 4, invisible to non-heroes (like spies, that should also be detected by heroes), can start The One Ring production in a city.
Lord of The Rings: str. 5, is upgrade rather than spawned when Annatar is killed, gives bonuses to units in the same stack.
Dark Lord: str. 4, can build the Temple of The Dark Lord wonder, and perhaps spread the Worship the Darkness religion (without disappearing, of course).
Sauron: str. 4, if killed "loses the Ring", +50% vs hero units, perhaps a Fireball power.
Necromancer: str. 3, sees 8 tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
Necromancer (yes, another): str. 2, sees tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
Eye of Sauron: str. 1, sees 6 tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
The One RingThis will need some parts of the Quest for the Silmarils comp, and will be linked to the Avatars of Sauron.
History Sauron disguised and sugested to the elven-smiths of Eregion the making made the Rings of Power, that would give them great power; but he made in secret One Ring that would control all that used the other rings. He put great part of it's power into it, so when he lost the ring he became weaker, and needed it to fully recover it's power; however, he coudn't be destroyed without destroying the Ring.
Description The second Avatar of Sauron, Annatar, should be able to build the One Ring wonder, that gives several benefits to it's civ: perhaps it could make all the civs with Rings of Power allies (if we later make a upgrade of the mod to Warlords, it should be Vassal States) of The Shadow, and give free promos to units, or even extra gold/hammers/research. But when the current Avatar of Sauron is killed (only the Avatars after Sauron, the 5th Avatar), the Wonder is obsoleted and one "The One Ring" unit is randomly spawned at any land tile on the map, and must be "taken" by another units, like the Silmarils are; however, it isn't invisible. If taken to the capital of the civ, it gives the same benefits of the wonder while it's in the capital; but if taken to the city that has this wonder (let's say, by a Hobbit, an invisible unit ) that civ automatically wins the game (or The Shadow is destroyed). I don't know if The Shadow should be able to win the game by taking the game by returning it to the city where it was created, and perhaps instead of a wonder we should get a unit from the beggining (it would just make it harder to make it a prerequisite for Nazgûl and such), and perhaps the ring should only spawn when the next Avatar of Sauron spawns (difficult if the Great Eye, the last avatar, loses the ring - in the improbable case that all the earlier dye before the ring is finished).
Units and hereos
The Shadow is a very different civ: it's much more warlike, and is almost unvincible in a war - at least, against a single civ. Even the Númenoreans, after some centuries of development in a safe island with the help of valinor, would only be able to face it, not to defeat it. It shall have several units aside from it's basic orc/uruk warriors (units that replace the basic units; uruks should be the basic units of the third age), mostly fell beasts, and a large number of proper Heroes. This topic is for discussing those.
For units, we should have Werewolves (great wargs/wolves possessed by evil spirits- probably lesser maiar, or perhaps disembodied spirits that refused to go to Mandos - not lycanthropes or manlike wolves), Vampires (evil units in the shape of giant bats), Dragons (giant lizards that breath fire, without wings), Cold Dragons (like the before, but attack with claws and bites instead of breathing fire), Flying Drakes (dragons that fly and breath fire), Balrogs (powerful demons of fire and shadow, truly powerful maiar), Trolls (stupid creatures made of stone, strong but the sun brokes the spell that gives them life and returns them into stone), Ologs (smart trolls that resist the sun) and Nazgûl (men that were enslaved by the Rings of Power).
Most of these units should be national units, to avoid (too much) abuse: 6 Balrogs, 8 Nazgûl, 6 Dragons, 8 Cold Dragons, 4 Flying Drakes, 10 Werewolves, 3 Vampires (exploration units). Balrogs should upgrade into Dragons, just to avoid players to build more and more Balrogs after they are killed.
About the heroes, we should for sure have Gothmog (the lord of the Balrogs), Glaurung (the father of the dragons), Ancalagon (the greatest dragon ever), Carcharoth (the greatest Werewolf ever), the Witch King (lord of the Nazgûl); perhaps we could also have Draugluin (father of the werevolves) and Smaug (greatest dragon of the third age). Most of them are from the first age, but remember that heroes (at least, if we make them like FFH's heroes) gain experience by turn, becoming powerful until very late (unless they get killed).
We should also make some unique skills for them (like FFH's magic powers), to make them unique and to make them effective late game while don't overpowered early game. Trolls should have a promo that gives them a chance of turning into stone every turn, lets say 50% while out of your borders and 10% inside it; Werewolves shouldn't give enemies experience when killed; vampires should have poor strength, but high movement; all Dragons should be able to hypontize other units that they attack, escaping combat and making those units unable to move or attack for one round; Nazgûl should "poison" other units, making them lose life over time for some turns; the Balrogs and some powerful heroes should have the power "Doom", that makes any unit who kills them to dye also (even heroes), a powerful skill, capable of making Balrogs (units from the Age of the Stars) powerful in the late third age without have to give them too much strength.
Avatars of Sauron
These are some ideas I have for having Sauron as a playable unit. I don't know if it can be done, or how, but I tried to make it as simple as possible.
History Sauron was a powerful Maia, a angelic spirit, created before the world, and corrupted by the Dark Lord Morgoth. This way, he had several powers, between those the power to change his shape at will, and so he could trick his enemies or take the shape of terrible beasts to fight them. When his master Morgoth fell, he became a new Dark Lord, but he gradually lost his powers: he built one ring to control the Free Peoples, and had to put much of his strength into it, and lost his body in the fall of Númenor; when the Ring was taken from him, he became even weaker and incapable of assuming another corporeal form.
Description The Shadow can build, at some time of the First Age, a powerful unit that represents Sauron in the game (one Avatar of Sauron), a unit with reasonable strength and powerful skills. When this Avatar is killed, after some turns a new one, less powerful, spawns at The Shadow's capital. When this new Avatar is killed, another weaker Avatar spawns after some turns, and so on. The Avatars can have different names, like Annatar, Necromancer, Great Eye, Dark Lord, Lord of the Rings, Sauron, Gorthaur, etc.
Goals Have another unit, different, spawn some turns after one specific one is killed.
Alternatives have one unit only buildable after one is killed.
List of Avatars Each avatar has it's own skills, that should be like the spells of FFH.
Gorthaur: strength of 5 or 6, can change his shape to a Werewolf (str. 9), a Vampire (str. 2, movement 4 or 5), or a Snake (can poison another unit, making it suffer damage over time).
Annatar: str. 4, invisible to non-heroes (like spies, that should also be detected by heroes), can start The One Ring production in a city.
Lord of The Rings: str. 5, is upgrade rather than spawned when Annatar is killed, gives bonuses to units in the same stack.
Dark Lord: str. 4, can build the Temple of The Dark Lord wonder, and perhaps spread the Worship the Darkness religion (without disappearing, of course).
Sauron: str. 4, if killed "loses the Ring", +50% vs hero units, perhaps a Fireball power.
Necromancer: str. 3, sees 8 tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
Necromancer (yes, another): str. 2, sees tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
Eye of Sauron: str. 1, sees 6 tiles away, if killed "loses the Ring" (just for the case of Sauron is killed before the Ring is finished).
The One RingThis will need some parts of the Quest for the Silmarils comp, and will be linked to the Avatars of Sauron.
History Sauron disguised and sugested to the elven-smiths of Eregion the making made the Rings of Power, that would give them great power; but he made in secret One Ring that would control all that used the other rings. He put great part of it's power into it, so when he lost the ring he became weaker, and needed it to fully recover it's power; however, he coudn't be destroyed without destroying the Ring.
Description The second Avatar of Sauron, Annatar, should be able to build the One Ring wonder, that gives several benefits to it's civ: perhaps it could make all the civs with Rings of Power allies (if we later make a upgrade of the mod to Warlords, it should be Vassal States) of The Shadow, and give free promos to units, or even extra gold/hammers/research. But when the current Avatar of Sauron is killed (only the Avatars after Sauron, the 5th Avatar), the Wonder is obsoleted and one "The One Ring" unit is randomly spawned at any land tile on the map, and must be "taken" by another units, like the Silmarils are; however, it isn't invisible. If taken to the capital of the civ, it gives the same benefits of the wonder while it's in the capital; but if taken to the city that has this wonder (let's say, by a Hobbit, an invisible unit ) that civ automatically wins the game (or The Shadow is destroyed). I don't know if The Shadow should be able to win the game by taking the game by returning it to the city where it was created, and perhaps instead of a wonder we should get a unit from the beggining (it would just make it harder to make it a prerequisite for Nazgûl and such), and perhaps the ring should only spawn when the next Avatar of Sauron spawns (difficult if the Great Eye, the last avatar, loses the ring - in the improbable case that all the earlier dye before the ring is finished).
