The opening post does say:



"Proposals for the Major Faction should take into account the theme below, to avoid having too many similarities with the 3 upcoming unannounced factions and their gameplay.

Keep in mind that we have already given some hints on the Roving Clans during our Gamescom 2013 Reveal, you had a sneak peak at Drakkens at the Early Access Release and that we are already working on some Magic "

True, although having some overlap with another Major or Minor Faction isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it would make for more diversity of strengths vs. weaknesses. Having more than one Faction that has winter buffs would help to prevent limiting a player's choice at the beginning of each game, and if that Faction's main role is to have interactions with/a reliance on Minor Factions it would probably be enough to distinguish it from the other Major Factions.

I'm kinda worried about how much the faction should resolve around the theme... I tried to design my idea around the theme, but I'm worried if it become too much about guerrilla warfare to qualify... I didn't even realize it at time of writing it, but I really would like to play such faction at least a once in strategy game.

I had the same problem with mine! I edited my entry a bit so that the Ubnud Meuzzi have more interactions with Minor Factions to reflect their tendency towards symbiotic relationships, especially where expansion and per-established territory control is concerned.



Having Minor Factions benefit from alliances with said home-brewed Factions might help play up a type of mutual synergy as well... (And the editing gears start turning in my head. ;p)

Bibool wrote:
Ahahah, I feel like i was playing a game not really knowing the rules. Ok, complete redone then ? arg I did like my Sons of winter :'(



- No mage

- No winter base faction

- No nomadic merchant



If I may, the greatest Idea for me so far (a.k.a good match with the theme of minor) were



- religion/conversion;

- native federation ;

- slave/sacrificial ;

Don't fear too much yet, all we know about Drakkens is visual. And like other people have said, maybe there can still be two winter based factions if they otherwise play differently

_theclamps_ wrote:
I had the same problem with mine! I edited my entry a bit so that the Ubnud Meuzzi have more interactions with Minor Factions to reflect their tendency towards symbiotic relationships, especially where expansion and per-established territory control is concerned.



Having Minor Factions benefit from alliances with said home-brewed Factions might help play up a type of mutual synergy as well... (And the editing gears start turning in my head. ;p)

I can't tell in my case whether I succeeded or failed... I mean, the guerrilla warfare theme was to show that my idea's units wouldn't be able to win on their own and at same time show how they could support minor faction units... But since I kept getting ideas about what maneuvers you could do with guerrilla tactics, I've started to wonder if I strayed too much from the theme... Is there something I could do to strengthen the minor faction theme?

Edited my entry, adding a section on the history of the Elders, which also expands on their outlook and introduces their faction leader, the dread Emperor Pw'll'eth.

ResonanceMask wrote:


I can't tell in my case whether I succeeded or failed... I mean, the guerrilla warfare theme was to show that my idea's units wouldn't be able to win on their own and at same time show how they could support minor faction units... But since I kept getting ideas about what maneuvers you could do with guerrilla tactics, I've started to wonder if I strayed too much from the theme... Is there something I could do to strengthen the minor faction theme?

You seem to have done a pretty good job already, and your instinct to have the Squamata be mistrustful of Major Factions and forced to rely on Minor ones is spot on. It might be beneficial to have them give specific buffs to Minor Faction Units and towns related to whatever pathways in technology they decide to take, and can upgrade allied units by incorporating themselves into each as a kind of "reinforcement" add-on.

_theclamps_ wrote:
and can upgrade allied units by incorporating themselves into each as a kind of "reinforcement" add-on.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what this means. I'm not native English speaker ^^; Can you elaborate?



I had considered them having tech tree that gives buffs to minor faction units to emphasize on their importance, but I figured out that I'm not sure if minor faction units will be nerfed later on during development <_< At the moment they seem to be stronger than normal units, so I'm worried if buffing them would make the faction be OP. And I had already considered Squamata lacking three minor faction units limit..



...Though considering that devs want to keep things simple and how powerful minor faction units are... I guess better way to do it would be them having three slots earlier than other factions or unlocking maybe fourth slot... Anyway, I guess if they have same amount of slots as other units, they would need less influence to change which units they can recruit since they are allied instead of assimilated. Alternatively, if they do have more slots(or can use all of allied races), then I guess there could be other restrictions like that each village in a region will give only certain amount of units at a time since they are allied and so aren't forced to give as much as player wants.. Not sure what would be best way to proceed with this.

Disclaimer:

[LIST=1]

Participating in the name of fun. There are many awesome faction ideas.

Giving lots of wiggle room in the biography on purpose.

Stuff like city aesthetics or units left out. So gameplay/mechanics like dust demons not being able to be produced but only bought with dust/sacrifices (Quest 2 material anyway) are out too, leaving just minor faction stuff. With wiggle room and no numbers.

I was to do some plantlike one but there is already one quite similar to what I had in mind so...

[/LIST]





Quest 1: The Biography



Name: Sanjanemo



Background Story: The Sanjanemo are very similar to humans but with some differences: their skin is dark blue, have pointy ears, fangs and, more importantly, a third eye (with mystical powers) in their forehead. The origin of the Sanjanemo is unknown even to themselves. Early records have them organized in savage warring tribes. They were unified by the strongest and wisest of all, the Sanjansen. Under his command, the Sanjanemo brought wantom destruction to Auriga's inhabitants with their savage warriors, eye magic and dust demons. At some point civil war erupted within the Sanjanemo, putting an end to their threat. Much time later, their new Sanjannusen leads a unified Sanjanemo to unify Auriga's people, by any means necessary, to avoid a dark future predicted by the first Sanjansen. While severely weakened by the civil war, their determination is absolute.



Basic Gameplay Idea: The Sanjanemo use their reputation and magic, in form of influence, to initimidate and control other people. When that fails, the Sanjanemo are more than willing to destroy those who don't bow to them. As such, Influence is their main tool (with the corresponding techs/buildings) when dealing with Auriga's inhabitants. Minor factions are most vulnerable to them.

• Sanjanemo can permanently take control of unaligned minor faction units that are nearby Sanjanemo units/cities by spending influence. Eventually, even take control of minor faction units controled by other major factions.
• Minor factions' villages can be pacified by the Sanjanemo by spending influence in addition of the regular means (but is automatically available, unlike the other non violent means).
• Eventually, the Sanjanemo can target nearby villages belonging to other major factions and force them to rebel by spending influence. Those villages randomly spawn some units and need to be pacified again.
• Sanjanemo can spend influence to prevent unaligned units to enter their regions. Unaligned units spawned in the Sanjanemo regions won't be affected unless they leave Sanjanemo regions.
• Minor factions' villages under Sanjanemo control provide an Industry bonus to their corresponding city due to the Sanjanemo using them as slaves (and sometimes sacrificies).
  
  

Edit:

I have decided to add the "making of" of the Sanjanemo. Some kind of record for posterity, for the curious or something. It removes wiggle room, that's why it's not mentioned in my official proposal (the more room for devs, the better, imho even if it hurts my "sales").



The Sanjanemo (or Three-eyed Demons) are of unknown origin. Their name is more related to their three eyes and destructive attitude in the early days than anyone knowing for sure if they are actual demons. They had been modified by Dust and their their third eye is active with Dust (therefore their mystical powers). Early on they were just smashing each other and everyone around. Until the most powerful and wise of them, united them under his rule. He was known as the Sanjansen (Three-eyed God).



At some point, the Sanjansen had a vision of the future. A future without Sanjanemo. Or anyone else in Auriga for that matter. The Sanajansen decided that the only way to avoid that future was to unite everybody under the same rule. So they went to war with everybody else but not knowing the real reason as the Sanjansen kept it for himself. Slaughtered those who opposed them and enslaved those who submitted. They were fierce warriors and their eyes had powerful magics able to frighten/control their enemies or heal their allies. As if that was not enough, the Sanajanemo knew how to manipulate big amounts of Dust into huge demonic entities at their service. This earned them a really bad reputation that would not be easily forgotten. (decided against giving them diplomacy penalties with major factions tough, current Sanjanemo are more peaceful in comparison)



The Sanjansen died (wiggle room here) but not before he revealed his vision to his subordinates. This lead to a civil war where the Sanjanemo struggled for power and as to believe the Sanjansen's vision or not. Sanjanemo power crumbled as they slaughtered each other, much of their military and magical power lost in the process. The Sanjanemo are truly long lived. No one knows if immortal because they usually die in combat (or assassinated or...). After a very long time, only one of the original subordinates to the Sanjansen remained. She took the control of the Sanjanemo remains, took the title of Sanjannusen (Three-eyed Goddess) and prepared to fulfill the Sanjansen's plan.



Unlike the Sanjansen, the Sanjannusen is more willing to work with other factions and not just conquer them. She knows of the dead of Auriga so keeping everybody working together (under the same rule if needed) to find a way to survive is a priority.

• The Sanjanemo are traditionally spartan in their culture. War is the central part and things like art/culture are not as much valued by them. Their clothing and buildings are of simple design, valuing more the functionality than the aesthetics. White, the color of death, is favored. For gameplay, I was considering some kind of "luxury" penalty but not really sure.
• Despite the civil war, they still have plenty of slaves (of different kinds but mostly humanoids). Quest 2 related, they could be used as "meat shields" (not much in the realm of special abilities). The Sanjanemo also use zombies from some of those slaves (if the battle is won and they died, they revive with 1 HP) but they are less numerous.
• Also Quest 2 related, the regular (decent) troops of the Sanjanemo, are the Sanjanemo themselves. As I was thinking about the faction, I stablished two important branches: Sanjanemo Guardians (Infantry, Bodyguard: if adjacent to a Sanjanemo Priestess units, any melee damage/status is applied to the Sanjanemo Guardian instead) and Sanjanemo Priestess (Support, Healing, at the end of combat if they won, they resurrect any Sanjanemo units at 1 HP). Obviously, balance is out of the question at this point for obvious reasons but there they are as ideas. I was thinking of alternatives lke warriors that drain life a la Broken Lords, or frigthen the enemies... Something that gives importance to their third eye magic. Rangers may be all about the bow, Sanjanemo are regular people with magical tricks in combat. Oh, Sanjanemo lack ranged combat... unless slaves were to use slingshots (game reasons may give them bows/crossbows though) which I'd not do.
• More Quest 2 stuff are the Dust Demons. At most, there would be just one (because of the knowledge lost in the civil war... wiggle room and stuff). Probaly some kind of flyier or some heavy infantry. No cavalry. The idea would be that it cannot be produced and can only be bought with Dust of sacrifying some population to it (Sanjanemo have dust in them). Some kind of summon spell, huh?
  
  

The magic of the Sanjanemo should be limited enough as to not to be a problem with the rage wizards. I mean, one summon? Some battle skills? The rest of their magic is expressed through Influence. And only with the minor factions. The ability to "buy" minor faction units through influence represents some kind of mix of "bad reputation", "bullying" and "third eye tricks" (scare them or maybe show them how cool is to have a Priestess healing you).





Sanjanemo are based on 3x3 Eyes' Sanjiyan and White Wolf's Salubri. Also, this guy (no horns though):

ResonanceMask wrote:
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what this means. I'm not native English speaker ^^; Can you elaborate?

I'm not sure, but I think he means they can turn their units into eqquipment other units can wear in a special slot?

Updated my faction a bit - we're obviously still not sure if naval units are planned in the future but I still think that it would add a lot of depth to the game if factions that are seabased were added to the game!

ResonanceMask wrote:
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what this means. I'm not native English speaker ^^; Can you elaborate?

Haha, yeah, sorry about that, I can be a little hard to understand sometimes ;p.

I'm not sure, but I think he means they can turn their units into eqquipment other units can wear in a special slot?

This was what I was going for! Thanks! For more elaboration, the Squamata unit would become something like an equipment that would provide a special set of buffs without filling a unit slot for whatever formation that they are attached to.

Huh, so their support ability would be lore wise them helping minor faction units from shadows and gameplay wise giving them buffs? That could work... Not sure if I add it though since I'm not sure if devs think that would be too much <_< Or if it would make squamata units almost completely pointless if they would be just stat boosts



BTW, I think I figured out how to add more stuff about minor factions' importance and how to make them more unique into original post.:



"Minor Faction Alliance mechanics:



There are two sorts of bonuses, first is amount of regions who are part of the Alliance and second is based on race of minor factions in Alliance. First one gives resource bonuses(and/or unlocks more options in research tree. I'm assuming that Squamata start out with weaker resource growth than other races before they gain allies) and it stacks, second one is only given once per race. Ideally Alliance race bonuses should be different(or alternatively give larger bonuses) from assimilation bonuses to show that them working with Squamata is different from them being assimilated into an empire. They should show how race is helping the alliance, for example, urces could give consruction bonuses to show that they help with building stuff due to their strength and bos could give defense bonuses or increase vision range due to them fluffwise patrolling alliances' borders.



Now, my original idea was that Squamata can use each of minor faction units without there being limit to only three at max at time, but in case that would be too powerful, I figured out alternative. This will work whether Squamata are limited to three minor faction units at max or if they have more minor faction unit slots than other factions: You can choose which races in Alliance participate in war, but in response they don't give their racial bonus since instead of helping in background, they are helping on battlefield."



How does that sound? I'll add it to the original post

First thanks for the feedback, Seek, some comments below.

Seek wrote:
The OMCETS are nanobots essentially, and so is dust - maybe merge them into the same concept or tie them together? Not sure, they just seem like overlapping concepts.

Actually, I was thinking of the Amoeba when I thought about the backbone of construction society to do the Eternal Queen's bidding. They had to be mindless, so they had no allegiance to the Endless. They had to be alike some construction the Endless did at least once (like some concrete Endless "became" Amoeba and opted to forget their origin because of the horrors of the dust wars, according to the ES artbook), so I took a nonfloating amoeba body (organic mono cell for OMC), made them nonfloating, adhesive, mindless and versatile in matter manipulation and transportation (environmental terraforming systems for ETS).

If I had used dust, directly, I would have had to make my city being expanded with dust, while I did not want too many similarities to the broken lords or to add too many mechanics.

Seek wrote:
Didn't see any mention of a starting unit - if they gain robotic units later, do they just start with being able to only build minor faction units?

I didn't want to say too much about unit design, as other people would, given I won the first quest, offer their unit designs for the contest in any case. In any case, you can imagine any kind of autonomous weapon platform the Endless might have left behind.

Seek wrote:
Don't quite follow the interaction between "Belief Equals Power" and "Subversive Theology": The Cult doesn't get pop from converted villages, unless in alliance with another faction with intact villages? Seems strange to me. I see how you need to limit the population potential with this faction, I just wonder if there isn't a more elegant method - perhaps change it so the Cult never gets pop from villages no matter what and Converted Villages in another faction's land only grant them the extra pop if they are allied with the Cultists.

Well, the thought behind this is that the coven is a more or less tolerated religion on Auriga. In uncharted land, not controlled by a major faction benevolent to the Cult, organising long treks of believers to really be worth a unit of population in their impact on the temple's work requires a lot of organisation, time and effort.

Also, once a village is converted, the newly indoctrinated people do not look kindly on an unbelieving master, any more, and simply decline hard work in the name of anything that does not resemble their religious beliefs.

But once you have a faction "convert" to the End by an alliance, the villagers will aid both parties with renewed fanatic vigor, being protected on their way to the temple on the one hand and working untiringly for their local masters, too, on the other hand.

Seek wrote:
Balance feedback:



"Inciting fanaticism" trait is a great concept, but I think the Influence values should be raised - they seem quite low - or maybe scaled so the initial ones are cheaper but get more expensive (maybe set by era?). I worry the Influence snowball could get out of control.

I just quoted some numbers to have some idea how to start, but you're probably right in the way that this will need to be tuned.

Just keep in mind that you cannot convert by influence alone. You still need heroes to run around and commit the indoctrinations, effectively limiting your missionary drive.

Seek wrote:
"Your enemy's dagger in your hand... " Trait seems OP, but given the faction has some severe limitations it might not be. One stockpile per building and one for 3/4 population seems too much, especially late game. Maybe shift one of these to steal strategic resources from the city somehow? Resources seem to be needed in excess for the cultists.

The question is: How does a faction with one single city have a chance at winning the game? If they declare war on someone, by themselves, they are at a loss, as no holy war is started. If they cannot trade for resources with other factions, being deliberately ignored (and given the market is empty, already, that will be their major dust drain), they do not get any, so they couldn't fulfill their quests or equip their military.

The devious cultists had to find another ways... And that is creative use of loot and pillage.

I agree there should be a balancing run over this (and keep in mind, whoever wins will have long negotiations with the devs what gets into the game and how!), but they need also a snowball mechanic on the attack against things like the necrophage. A backstabbing cultist razing a few perimeter cities gets stronger, fast, forcing you to defend your complete borders, not just your bigger cities. Because the fundamental truth of cultists: They multiply at a worrying rate during times of strife. 3

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

you went into a bit more detail than needed with the units and cities but your story of outcasts driven underground, i thought was really good. heres a quote from Steph regarding the parameters for the first part of the competition:



Quest 1: The Biography

Submit a Name, a Background Story and a Basic Gamplay Idea.

Vote for your favourite proposal in the forum polls.

The best three submissions will be chosen for a GAMES2GETHER vote.

So I added a few more ability options to the Stasis Pirates.

Nosferatiel wrote:
First thanks for the feedback, Seek, some comments below.





Actually, I was thinking of the Amoeba when I thought about the backbone of construction society to do the Eternal Queen's bidding. They had to be mindless, so they had no allegiance to the Endless. They had to be alike some construction the Endless did at least once (like some concrete Endless "became" Amoeba and opted to forget their origin because of the horrors of the dust wars, according to the ES artbook), so I took a nonfloating amoeba body (organic mono cell for OMC), made them nonfloating, adhesive, mindless and versatile in matter manipulation and transportation (environmental terraforming systems for ETS).

If I had used dust, directly, I would have had to make my city being expanded with dust, while I did not want too many similarities to the broken lords or to add too many mechanics.

Haha, I should have known you had all the lore worked out here!



What's this about an art book? Is it available online somewhere? I worry my lore doesn't fit with the official history, but I just can't find out much about it...

I didn't want to say too much about unit design, as other people would, given I won the first quest, offer their unit designs for the contest in any case. In any case, you can imagine any kind of autonomous weapon platform the Endless might have left behind.

Ok, figured as much.

Well, the thought behind this is that the coven is a more or less tolerated religion on Auriga. In uncharted land, not controlled by a major faction benevolent to the Cult, organising long treks of believers to really be worth a unit of population in their impact on the temple's work requires a lot of organisation, time and effort.

Also, once a village is converted, the newly indoctrinated people do not look kindly on an unbelieving master, any more, and simply decline hard work in the name of anything that does not resemble their religious beliefs.

But once you have a faction "convert" to the End by an alliance, the villagers will aid both parties with renewed fanatic vigor, being protected on their way to the temple on the one hand and working untiringly for their local masters, too, on the other hand.

Hmm, that does make sense, but I worry that in-game it will feel odd and unintuitive.

I just quoted some numbers to have some idea how to start, but you're probably right in the way that this will need to be tuned.

Just keep in mind that you cannot convert by influence alone. You still need heroes to run around and commit the indoctrinations, effectively limiting your missionary drive.



The question is: How does a faction with one single city have a chance at winning the game? If they declare war on someone, by themselves, they are at a loss, as no holy war is started. If they cannot trade for resources with other factions, being deliberately ignored (and given the market is empty, already, that will be their major dust drain), they do not get any, so they couldn't fulfill their quests or equip their military.

The devious cultists had to find another ways... And that is creative use of loot and pillage.

I agree there should be a balancing run over this (and keep in mind, whoever wins will have long negotiations with the devs what gets into the game and how!), but they need also a snowball mechanic on the attack against things like the necrophage. A backstabbing cultist razing a few perimeter cities gets stronger, fast, forcing you to defend your complete borders, not just your bigger cities. Because the fundamental truth of cultists: They multiply at a worrying rate during times of strife. 3

Yep, like I said, just balance feedback. If you win the numbers are bound to be tweaked.



BTW, I've updated the Lore for the Tluli Serena, please let me know if it still seems inconsistent.

Seek wrote:
Haha, I should have known you had all the lore worked out here!



What's this about an art book? Is it available online somewhere? I worry my lore doesn't fit with the official history, but I just can't find out much about it...

Have a look at the old screenshots AmpliMath posted.

i have a digital copy of the art book, its really pretty but i'm not sure how you get one now.

0Ray wrote:
Hi ! Here is my idea. Since i'm a dev tem member, i will not take part to the contest. This is just a free idea, so feel free to use it, stole it and improve upon it. Cheers !

Beat me to the punch Oray

Wondering if my guys need one more positive trait. If you don't get access to resources early on, it's tough to take advantage of their more powerful abilities. They have a deliberately weak early game, but I wonder if it's too weak.

I finally feal good enough to post, but there will probably still be edits and feedback would be phenomenal. (The brackets are still WIP)



]The Hunters of Baog (pronounced bowg)



Brief description;

No one is safe from these dreaded fiends. Coming in the dead of night, they attack without warning and leave entire villages empty. Few escape their attacks and fewer from their massive Holding Pens. [Racistdoesnotdescribethesepeoplesenmitytoothers.TheybelievetheyarethefavoredchildrenofMotherAurigaandmustputallunderthecontroloftherighteous.Usingthegiftsshehasgiventhem,theywilluniteAurigaandendtheWinters,healingtheirGreatMother'stroubles.]



Unique Gameplay;

Can not pacify through quests. Can assimilate any number of factions as long as they create a special technology 'Holding Pens'. Allows unlimited assimilation but has increasing production in making the pens larger. Each pen decreases influence per turn. Slave pens also increase FIDs per turn but decrease science. Only lasts a certain time until all the slaves reach the end of their usefulness.



Have poor front line troops and rely almost completely on minor factions for battle.



Drivers; These support troops give major debuffs to the enemy and drive their own troops onward with the crack of whip or poke of spear.



Snatchers; Flying These great beasts have been tamed and are flown into battle to grab anything that moves on the ground.



Hunters; Ranged these elite troops track their prey, get into striking distance, and bring the hunted down.





Extended Description; [ThesepeoplehavereadthesignsandlistenedtothewhispersoftheearthandhaveconcludedthattheywerechosenbytheGreatMothertowrestcontrolofherotherfeudingoffspringandrestoretheCalm,whattheBaorrefertothetimebeforetheWinters]. These people are nor pretty in the slightest and hide their faces in the deep cowls of cloaks or veils, which have become a sign of rank for the Baor, with the nobles wearing veils while the middle castes wear hoods, and the lowest castes and direct slavers wearing simple wrappings around their heads. They hardly ever show their actual faces. Despite being slavers, the Baor have a barbaric sense of justice. They retain a court to preside over cases of accidents, thievery, and other judicial cases and when there is no clear answer, are left alone in the wild to see who the Mother favors. The Baor are all held together under the [GreatestChildren;onemanandwomanwhoaredescendedfromAurigaherself(inbreedingisnotaproblemastheBaorgeneticsdonotcarrythesamegenesashumans[justdon'taskhow/why]). That family has ruled since the beginning and their bloodline has never failed (or has it).] They are semi reptillian; without scales but the same facial structure, although more blunt. There skin color varies from light tan to dark brown to grayish green. Their skin is rough and callused and range in build. [Theyhavesomehair,onthemalesfromthebackoftheheaddowntothelowershoulders,andonbothgendersthebackoftheforearms,calvesandupperschest.Theyhaveanalmostavianappearancewhentheirhairislong].