Strange religion-civ combos.

My favorite game to date I was playing as Calabim/Ashen Veil until the Sheaim released Hyboream into the world. About the same time I founded the Order. It was an interesting 180 that my civ took as I became the only good guys powerful enough to stop the legions of hell.

 

I have an experience similar to yours. I was playing Sheaim under Empyrean when the Hippus summoned Hyborem. He then conquered everyone around me leaving me to fight him.

 

That reminds me of the time the AI created a massive world war between Ashen Veil and Octopus Overlords while I looked on in awe as the neutral Illians. This world was so messed up that the Octopus Overlords were the good guys.

 

And the Illians are the innocent bystanders. Did you win?

On the flipside of this, I felt so rotten I had to quit the game when I played Falamar's Lanun in a world that consisted of, besides me, Rhoanna, Sabathiel, Garrim Gyr, and one of the Elohim leaders, I forget which. I just couldn't take the thought that I was the Big Bad by default, since the world was made of candy and sugardrops.

 

I didn't finish it, but probably would have won. IIRC, it went like this: the Ashen Veil consisted of wickedly powerful Tebryn and Flauros, while the OO was Falamar, Faeryl, Rhoanna, and Einion (they followed The Order but were vassals to Falamar. The Order had been founded earlier by the Bannor before Falamar destroyed them and capitulated Einion). Though there were more OO civs, Sheaim and Calabim were very strong and were rapidly conquering Hippie and Svart lands. They really racked up the armageddon counter, and hell terrain spread like mad though I never saw Hyborem (I think he must have spawned near Falamar and got killed immediately or something). Hell terrain quickly got so big that my snowy empire was the only unhellified place on Erebus (except Einions tiny empire). Eventually the Apocalypse happened before I even finished The Draw. Fortunately my priests of winter all survived the Apocalypse. Apparently the Apocalypse hit Flauros and Tebryn pretty badly, as I started getting messages of their cities getting conquered about twenty turns later. Soon I finished The Draw and got my high priests, but I never really got attacked (the others were probably too busy with their war). In the end, Ascension cut the war short (though I'm pretty sure the OO would've won it had I not intervened) as I launched snowy invasions of their lands. By then, the game was crashing pretty much every three turns, so I stopped there.

 

fairly grim world you wound up with.

 

Nah, that's just a Tuesday in Erebus.

 

Tuesday normally involves the Order, the Empyrean, or at least RoK.

 

yeap it sounded more like monday

 

Now you wonder what happens on....
FRIDAY!!!!


and also this
Balseraphs-CoE
this looks kinda normal unless you consider the high culture the balseraphs are farting...
You'll never know if the next travelling circus is an army of spies
with the craziness in the balseraphs.im pretty sure the things they hide will be in plain site
and no one will notice

 

and on saturday...


actually I think Svalt and Empyrian would be good. When you cast veil of night you will have hidden nationality vicars which will destroy anyone else trying to create a secret army by robbing their hidden nationality and have Chalid cast pillar of fire before Alakazan comes in and kills some more enemies. When they have their army arrayed against you you can cast blinding light with a Ratha and you're out of there. Not to mention the Demons you could secretly kill with Crown of Brilliance. Seems like a nation with the best intelligence network in the world: Having their own secret spies and the Ability to rat out the enemy spies

 

Octopus Overlords elves worship deep sea fauna.

 

I run Empyrean Clan of Embers. It works pretty well, especially if I can get the mirror. Radiant guard spam has never been easier, and Chalid is such a bamf that he compensates for the Clan's lack of both lategame artillery and lategame-effective heroes!

Actually, is it even possible to not do well with empyrean? three or four radiant guards in a city means you pretty much need to be magic immune to take it. That or be the hippus, but pooh to them.

 

Hordes of Stygian guards coming in from multiple directions. With simultaneous turns on.

 

I just had a game where the Grigori summoned the Mercurians. Yeah, the guy who quit Heaven because he was tired of their meddling goes ahead and deliberately summons the leader of the meddlers.

Any takers?

 

Sabathiel's will is interpreted by corrupt order priests and the Hippus are mercenary types.

The Grigori people demanded to summon Basium in order to save them from greater evils. Cassiel, who always respects his people, was forced to agree.

 

I realize that this post is from 2008, but this statement made me imagine an Order/Balseraph combo as something like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVHgL87jir0

 

Which religion fits well for Calibim? Viewed by Lore

 

Esus.

 

Most vampires are not very religious, but are willing to use religion as a tool.

The best religion for the vampires would be The Occis, a cult of elite assassins devoted to Aeron. Of course, that is not present in the game.

The Stewards of Inequity would also be a good fit, as vampires are narcissists and Mammon prefers followers who believe that they worship only their own self interest. That religion is not present in the game either though (expect for being referenced in a random event).

Of the religions present in the game, The Council of Esus is definitely the best fit for the vampires.

Flauros in particular likes to ally himself with Esus, as Lugus is their mutual enemy. Flauros does not care much for demons or the Ashen Veil (why give souls to hell when you can devour them yourself? why help destroy the world if you want to live forever?), but in the scenarios he (or at least Decius, when he is working for Flauros) does agree to work with the Ritualists against the Mercurian threat.


I tend to think that the Octopus Overlords may be the preferred religion of the Calabim chattel. It appeals to superstitious peasants, and makes it easy to abuse them. Most of the believers of this faith are pretty decent people, but the leaders are quite evil and use it to exploit them to commit atrocities. Tthe Tower of Complacency is something a vampire lord would want to keep his slaves in line ( even though it does not synergize well with the Governor's Manor as far as game mechanics go). The City of Prespur is canonically on the coast, near the Maelstrom which in Kael's D&D campaigns was a portal used by the demons of Mammon serving Hastur. (It is much less clear whether Prespur was actually under Calabim control most of the times it is referenced though.)

The Tale of Saverous mentions that the Burnt Priest (who is very much associated with the Overlords) razed the city of Prespur, and had all of is inhabitants killed. This could imply some animosity between the vampires and Overlords. The again, it is rather explicitly stated that the Overlords have great animosity for each other. Vampire lords could very well support some Cultists despite hostility of the greatest OO priest. (It is possible that Prespur had been a Bannor city at the time, or that its Calabim overlords were feigning allegiance to Junil. The Bannor holy army that finally killed the Burnt Priest did so in retribution for the destruction of Prespur.)

The Ashes of Brigdarrow contains an allusion to Danalin being with Trenton Majosi during the miraculous flooding the Calabim City of Anaea. I think it is implied that the God of Water was an enemy of the vampires. It is unclear whether that would make the Calabim commoners see him as a threat, a savior, or perhaps both. The Octopus Overlords religion still contains some elements of devotion to Danalin, but it has been corrupted into something Danalin would surely despise.


The Fellowship of the Leaves fits the Calabim ok, as they can emphasize things like survival of the fittest and excuse their predation as part of the natural order of things (despite the supernatural origins of their secret ritual).

The Runes of Kilmorph does not fit the Calabim well. It emphasizes the value and rewards of honest hard labor in the way that a parasitic ruling class would not like. (It may be worth noting, however, that the Runes hero Arthendain was fighting in Prespur, trying to defend the commoners from Mary's plague, when the died and was brought back to serve Sucellus.)

The Empyrean is obviously the worst possible fit.

Vampires hate justice, but they do like imposing order. They wouldn't mind exploiting The Order state religion once the church has been corrupted. They still would not get along with truly devout men like Valin Phanuel, but I could see the wicked confessor Maraphene doing well among them.