Faction Name:



The Betrayed Ones



Background:



Symbols found on the crumbling wall of ancient ruins speak of a great purge that had happened on the surface of the planet long ago, an event that had followed a cataclysmic reckoning that split the earth and shattered the cities asunder. Empires at the time had seen this a sign from the gods that they must repent for their sins and cast away those who would not. These civilizations gathered all their undesirables, the murders, thieves and ♥♥♥♥♥s and then exiled them into the stygian abyss that the gods had created. These humans, without might or magic, had been cast down into the pits that led to the dreaded Underworld, a place where daemons were the denizens and the darkness reigned as king. For centuries they had been forgotten for their crimes against the world, left abandoned in these catacombs of death and despair. There they had begun to twist into something inhuman, tainted with the hatred that they felt those who had betrayed them until their skin turned ashen and their eyes turned hollow with disgust.



Banding together these forgotten souls began to explore the tunnels and kill the creatures that they found, forced to feed on them and let their tainted flesh fill them. After some time they began to form roaming warbands that were composed with those strong enough to survive the hardships that they encountered among the creatures and ancients traps. Among these warbands, ferocious warlords rose to power and promised to lead them to a paradise that would outshine those upon the surface, and then when they had regained their strength they would retake that which they had lost. So for decades they had wandered deep within the tunnels beneath the surface, growing in number as they fought against the daemons and scavenging what they could survive from ruins. Many warbands had been destroyed but a few had begun to prosper as they wandered, the largest of the warbands, under the command of the warlord Alleki, had earned a reputation among the Kenjik daemons that roamed beneath the surface as well as other warbands as a ruthless slayers with a silver tongues.

This warband under the leadership of Alleki had been the first to find the enormous caverns that seemed to stretch on endlessly into the browned walls of the earth. Among the pillars of earth they found dark, gleaming halls and battlements that seemed other worldly in the light of the glowing crystals. It had been there among the glittering quartz and enormous glowing crystals that they found the city of R’ylem, last stronghold of the old gods. Approaching cautiously across one of the many bridges that lead into the city, Alleki found an ancient caste of the Ceratan waiting for them at the other end with their weapons ready.



These Ceratan were different from those upon the surface, their bodies were smaller and more compact, and their facial features were modest with placid white skin. They had been among the other mysterious creatures, which had been the inhabitance of the city since the old gods had left the planet long ago, they translated the history and kept the ancient machines running. They looked down upon these forgotten souls and found kinship with their hatred and deceitful nature. They were led into the city where the other mysterious creatures greeted them, the faceless Kaalum and the half-snake Naga, who embraced them as much as the Ceratan. They all took them in and taught them about the old gods with their message of the endless worships and technological wonders that trumpeted over all others. Alleki took these lessons to heart as he led more of the warbands into his leadership and began rebuilding that which they had lost in this ancient city.



Each warband that joined the fold had brought with them adversities that began to grow the culture behind The Betrayed, the warlords and those closest to them demanded that they be recognized as nobility in this new empire. Alleki knew that without them that he would never exact his revenge on the surface and neither would anyone else. So coming to a compromise he founded the noble houses under which each individual warband could thrive and be happy. These noble houses defined themselves on their specialization, such as House Mallunik, whose desire to construct the ancient machines drove his warband into constructing and maintaining the machinery of the city. With this new definition of the empire they continued to rebuild for centuries, reactivating parts of the city and awakening the golems and mechanical monstrosities that had once defended the Old Gods against invaders. Never forgetting their past, their numbers grew and grew until one day they would split the earth again and reemerge to retake what they had lost all those years ago.





Appearance & Culture:



From the centuries the Betrayed had spent beneath the surface, absent from the bright reign of the sun, they began to warp physically. Their skin had turned white as snow and their eyes the color of ice, beneath their skin their veins became black with the tainted flesh that they ate from creatures they hunted in the tunnels. While they hunted in their warbands they also grew stronger and leaner, but their nutrition had left much to be desired as their features began to shrink and become gaunt. Their clothing had often be composed of armor that had been made from the hides of creatures and the shells of large insects that they found. This transitioned into their culture within R’ylem as ceremonial armors and dress still reflected a more elegant form from their time in the warbands.



Their culture had also stemmed from original warbands, each warband had their own traditions and dialects that they used and this came to form the noble houses that define the culture inside the city of R’ylem. In all there are four major houses, with many minor ones populating different districts of the city. These houses were often identified by their colors or the way that they dress which often matched the specialty that the house operated under. Unlike a strict caste system, these houses often exchanged the youth during their apprenticeships so that they may learn the skills that they are best suited. It allows for a flexible society that respects the wishes of its citizens while ensuring that the culture as a whole thrives together.



While these noble houses have accommodated the Betrayed, the future generations of the Ceratan and other races had also become more esteemed in the society as the respected races began serving in more important roles. Their populations were quickly trumped by that of the Betrayed, so they chose to allow them to rule over the city, but in return they ensured that they would always be allowed a voice in how the city would be dictated. The Ceratans had chosen to become advisors to the descendants of House Alleki and maintained the holy machinery in the city. This role expanded further as they prepared to invade the surface, they began serving as officers and a much need Calvary element to support the foot soldiers. They also helped with the alliance that would happen between certain clans of the Delvers, allowing them join the forces and the cities as laborers and foot soldiers.



Leaders & The Houses:



Alleki, the Betrayed of Calluman, had been one of the first warlords to find the ancient city of R’ylem. Making peace with the mysterious Ceratan, he had forged what would become the Betrayed civilization, and began leading more of those into his realm and forming the noble houses that would help continue his families’ destiny of conquering the surface. From the glittering palace of the city’s central district, the descendants of Alleki have carefully watched over the other houses and ensured peace among them. Often seen accompanied by both Naga and Ceratans, they serve the noble lords as advisors as they whisper evil deeds into their ears of some and sweet nothings into those of others. Each descendant has a sworn duty to preserve the history and traditions that has been passed down continuously throughout the generations to ensure the continuation of House Alleki as the rulers of the city of R’ylem. Their descendants are often recognized by their stature and sly nature with purple flowing robes and armor, as much politicians as they were thieves and con-men they are often wearing a sigil with a spider on it. Many claim it should be a snake.



House Mallunik had been founded by the second largest of the original warbands. Their warlord, the distinguished engineer, Eros Mallunik, had been the first to activate one the grand war machines that the Old Gods had left behind before arriving at the city. With the help of his engineers he had created the grand foundry where all the weapons and armor were made as well as maintaining the ancient machines alongside the Ceratan and ageless Kaalum. He had ensured that the city would remain functional for generations to come, and that his house would with stand the tests of time like the city itself. Members of House Mallunik are often distinguished by their grease stained clothing and the sooty grinds that had gotten engrained into their skin, their clothes are often colored a fiery orange with sigils that depict a fiery basilisks.



House Scientia had been a coven of scientists and researchers. Living in the ruins of temples, they had understood the Old Gods long before any other warband had stepped foot in R’ylem. Their leader, the renowned scientist and heretic, Jutian Scientia, had been cast out for his unending thirst for knowledge that many had looked down upon as heresy. His curiosity had been peaked as he studied the Old Gods in the tunnels and followed their messages to the city that they had left behind. He had been the one to unlock many secrets within the city as he rediscovered many of their old archives and recreated many of their experiments in his laboratories. The research that he and his men did had earned their warband a place among the larger noble houses as the curious and intelligent flocked towards them in the hopes that they may learn more about the Old Gods which they worshiped. Their descendants are often seen wearing priestly blue robes, many of which would mistake for the robes of House Alleki, until their sigil of the Lynx were seen.



House Ulgaren had been slime on the face of the tunnels long before they arrived at the city. Their numbers had included thieves, crooks, and rouges that would rob their own grandmothers if it meant a pretty penny, and among them the worst had been Lucian Ulgaren, the Terror of Liken. His grim smile and feather light step had ensured his survival in the tunnels as he and his men avoided the creatures and stole away with Dust wherever they found it. Arriving in the city of R’ylem they had niched out roles as informants and merchants, often still cheating people with unfair prices and blackmail. Their crime families were only ever put in their place by House Alleki when things got out of hand. Everyone knew an Ulgaren when they saw one, often clad with shadowy hoods in dark alleyways or gracing their customers with sly smiles as they cheat them of all their Dust, they are always identified by the sigil of the snake.



Gameplay Idea:



So the unique affinity found within this faction is that, similar how the Vaulters can choose the special resource at the beginning, the Betrayed Ones can choose one of the four major noble houses, and can’t change their choice after that. This allows for a special bonus that matches the specific house that they have chosen, this will also accompany the Underground Walkers affinity. Like such:



House Alleki: +2 to influence gained per turn. Ceratan units have damage bonuses and cost less production to create.



House Mallunik: +2 to industry on every tile where there is industry. Delver units have damage bonuses and cost less production to create.



House Scientia: +2 to research on every tile where there is research. Bonus research for every science based structure built in cities.



House Ulgaren: +2 to Dust on every tile where there is Dust. Taxes cause less unhappiness in cities.



This would allow players to choose their specific niche while still playing as the Betrayed Ones.



* Underground Walkers - Every city, watchtower, and allied minor faction town have been connected by underground tunnels that garrisoned troops can travel to. The time taken for travel is one turn for every state-area that they have to pass through to get there.



-Cities



*(These cities look similar to Delver and Ceratan towns in design and have a large spire emerging from a sinkhole or pit of some sort with living spaces built in along the pit and on the spire.)

The cities from which the Betrayed Ones come are often sinkholes or scars that have ripped through the landscape. They often don’t build structures outside these holes as they are very subterranean in nature and the sunlight does harm to them over long periods of time.



* Subterranean Cities - This cause the city to suffer from lacking space and often doesn’t have room support higher populations: -2 to maximum population.



* Earthworks - Due to the fact that these cities are underneath the ground and access to them is limited, this makes sieging them extremely hard to do: +25% to defense against attackers.



-Troops



*(Due to the fact that they are often fighting underground in tunnels they haven’t trained many ranged units and thus only have melee units from which to choose)

**(The primary combat function of this race is that they are effective at different task depending at different troop compositions: Same unit armies give each other benefits and mixed units have their separate benefits.)



Pioneer – Settler Unit.



Those among the Betrayed who have an air of adventure and wish to explore the world in which they live have been chosen to found new outposts and cities in the name of the Betrayed. These eager humans have taken up riding on cave beetles and spiders to traverse terrain and carry their gear.



Wayfinders – Basic melee unit.



These Betrayed Ones are the foot soldiers of the entire offensive, they wear heavy armor that had been forged in the city of R’ylem. Their tactics are honed in close combat and thus don’t rely on ranged weaponry to fight against the enemies as they prefer the thrill of battle.



* Snow walkers – “Skin as snow, we walk so slow, but in light we are out of sight.” When the world has snow the Wayfinder units become invisible until they are adjacent to another enemy unit or have other units in their company (excluding heroes).



* Phalanx – From fighting for years in the tunnels, they have learned that a tight defense serve well against the enemy and as such gain +10% Defense as long as they are beside another Wayfinder unit in combat.



* Arrows? GAAH! – They suffer from inexperience in fighting against ranged weaponry and are often caught off-guard when it comes to fighting back against them. Thus they don’t know how to handle the incoming attacks and ranged units get +10% damage against them.



Truebroods – Medium calvary unit.



These are the officers and the auxiliary forces provided by the Ceratan Elders in the city of R’ylem. Their spider legs give them speed and allow them to travel quickly against enemy units while traversing dif

I don't think we are allowed to do this since that would become spamming if every 99 contestants made a thread to promote their idea <_<

I hope it's not spamming :c but I didn't see it anywhere that I couldn't.

Most people have mae a blog post about their faction (you can find your blog in your profile).

http://forums.amplitude-studios.com/blog.php?165175-Rave



How much exposure your idea will get that way I do not know



Good luck!