The Haustoria - i.e. Sentient Parasitic Plants



In 50 words: A faction that relies on subjugation of minor factions that alters those factions by making them a part of the larger plant sentience. Only has two unique units, but can assimilate and transform 5 minors. Makes them better, too. Has advantages in research and diplomacy and uses food to build more buildings. Does especially poorly in the Winter.



Faction Description: The Haustoria are named after the organ common to all parasitic plants, which connects them to their living hosts and helps them rob them of their water and nutrients. The Haustoria are spread through the air in clusters, clusters that are produced and spread through the bursting of flowering spore sacs that all Haustoria grow. Once these spores are ingested or breathed in, they stand a chance at growing in the host's blood vessels, if they attach themselves well enough. Each cluster of spores numbers in the millions of spores and only 1/100th of those spores stand a chance at actually being ingested before they die, as they are incapable of surviving on their own for long. The other spores are more likely to find another plant and morph it, becoming "Kill Flowers" and "Spore Plants" that push the Haustoria's agenda. They've been able to attach themselves to many of the Minor Factions of Auriga and thrive among these races.





Gameplay Idea:

- The Haustoria don't just subjugate the minor factions of Auriga. They improve them after they attach themselves to them. Their only inherent units are a Spore unit that "attacks" neutral minor factions and one moderately powerful "Kill Flower" that is stronger than other factions' starting units, but cannot be upgraded. They are able to assimilate 5 races, instead of the 3 that others can. When a minor faction is assimilated, their unit graphics change to reflect their new plant-like look.



- They do not need industry as all of the Haustorian's cities are grown, thus requiring less industry, but more food. This also increases build time incrementally. They gather some food from the sun, but due to their parasitic nature, they require twice the amount of food than the average race as their drained hosts still require energy, too.



- The Haustoria are all connected as one giant sentience. Thus, they are able to produce research at a faster rate than normal.



- However, they take a moderately larger hit during the Winter and units that remain outside of their cities during winter take an HP hit each turn. Assimilated units do not, however.



- They use hypnotic spores to give them an edge in diplomacy, thus reducing their influence requirements for peaceful propositions.



An example of how the Haustoria change the look of the minor factions:







Work In Progress



Damn, I've seen the Viridiplantae now and I see that we are similar. While being so, I have come up with this idea alone and feel that they're different enough to warrant submission. Imagine the best of the sentient plant race and the parasitic race. Also, this race wouldn't be difficult to implement as they only require two new art assets and changes to existing art assets. If anyone has suggestions, I would welcome them!

Teslaflux wrote:




Add Wredniak2003



At the moment you will get my vote too.

I really like the idea of sentient plants.

Are their archenemy the Necrophages? Plants vs Zomb... I mean Necrophages ^^

It would be very interesting if the Viridiplantae would become a faction of ES.

Imagine spacefaring plants fighting against living minerals or giant amoebas.

To answer your question some of their history and reasons for the change have to be explained"

Up until fairly recently all animal life was considered enemy to be destroyed or assimilated (as in mindless zombies controlled by plants) but lately Viridiplantae started to see benefits of cooperation. It mostly comes with enormous cost to ensure total control over the unwilling subjects and required significant portion of population to focus on maintaining that control. That of course was not without accidents when plants were rejected or animal in terror managed to overcome the control and went on the rampage. Especially considering that using mixture of telepathy, spores and biological "drugs" (produced by specialized plants) would often not be enough and then number of plants would have to grow into the subject. Important to note is that those plants would have to "root" into the animal forgoing the honor of stationary resting place. That would also significantly lower the Viridiplantae life span as they would die with their host compared to the centuries some of them could live provided they found good rooting place. Now if you consider a symbioses Viridiplantae so far achieved like with bees when they just let them collect they nectar and bees at their own will take care of feeding themselves, defending their nests (and Viridiplantae close by) and reproduction the effort required is impossible to compare. Viridiplantae may be set in their ways but they are not stupid. They cautiously tried to see if they could share similar symbiosis and gradually more animals were welcomed among Viridiplantae. Viridiplantae adapted by reducing number of new mind controlling plant being spawned and focused on those that could bear fruits or produce sweet nectar, and for those plants their primary function of sustaining their "allies" comes at no cost at all and required no effort. It allowed them to aid with research, teaching etc. That made the collective stronger so they changed. Now you could said they are ready too experiment with things larger and smarter that rodents so they are looking at minor factions ^^.



In the past I'd say Viridiplantae were very much like necrophages. Bound to destroy anything that wasn't them but now that they realized the benefits of cooperation they realized they needed to shift their focus to be more friendly and open to strangers. But as a faction that routinely sacrificed millions of them every year (and they still do but now it's only in hundreds of thousands) they are pragmatics and still retain their armies of mind controlled animals. And they know there will never be peace with necrophages (mostly because of the necrophages unwillingness to leave them alone). But deep down below pretty flowers and colorful vines they are not that different from necrophages they just try very hard not to be as this allows more of them to live and the more of them lives, the stronger Collective becomes.

The Ichthyodre



Summary: every single Ichthyodre lives in his very own perception with its very own language, they never communicate with other beeings. They dont know time and they just follow magically the first of them, who focus the play instinct and the love of experimantation to satisfy the expectations of his "creater cosmos".

Their body Looks like a newt, wherefore their cities are mostly build near water.

Because of their very Special form of life they arent qualified for hard work. Thats why the Ichthyodre started early "convincing" smaller factions to help themwith production and diplomacy, with or without violence.



Faction traits:

amphibians: + for cities with rivers or lakes

thinking: +

unable to work: no , and created in larger cities

servants of Ichtyodre: + , and created in minor faction villages

No diplomats: diplomacy needs at least one controlled village

Hibernation: their (faction) armys and Heros are unable to fight and move during winter



sorry for my bad english.

Nosferatiel wrote:
Although I do like the voting system, I have the simple problem that the forum doesn't provide this kind of voting infrastructure. -_-

You could create a number of different polls, one for 1st choice, one for 2nd choice, one for 3rd choice, etc.

I wish I had the energy and focus to do this - I'd love to see a Fremen-like desert faction that has bonuses to desert tiles, and are very religious to the point of fanaticism.

Reagord wrote:
You could create a number of different polls, one for 1st choice, one for 2nd choice, one for 3rd choice, etc.

That's a possibility. Let's hope the devs like taking that into account. It would, in any case, reduce the time to vote per bracket for us. That's the main problem with such a system.

Mansen wrote:
I wish I had the energy and focus to do this - I'd love to see a Fremen-like desert faction that has bonuses to desert tiles, and are very religious to the point of fanaticism.

Well, I got cultists that are fanatic about annihilating the Endless themselves. How can you be more fanatic than that in the ES-universe?

So get up from your behind and show us by writing your own faction.

Wredniak2003 wrote:
To answer your question some of their history and reasons for the change have to be explained"

....

It was more a question in good fun because the idea of sentient plants reminded my a bit of Plants vs Zombies. But your indulgence for your "child" is a reason more to vote for the Viridplantae.

Nosferatiel wrote:
Well, I got cultists that are fanatic about annihilating the Endless themselves. How can you be more fanatic than that in the ES-universe?

So get up from your behind and show us by writing your own faction.

Nice try to promote your faction. All your efforts are in vain, however, as Mesaima will gladly take the bodies of your followers. You weren't using those things properly anyway



But yeah Mansen, you should try to mobilise and create a faction yourself It's a lot of fun. And you have plenty of time left!

Mansen wrote:
I wish I had the energy and focus to do this - I'd love to see a Fremen-like desert faction that has bonuses to desert tiles, and are very religious to the point of fanaticism.

Hey, that sounds just like the Solarians! Crazy, right?



Desert-dwelling, vaguely roman/aztec/african sun cult dudes. Holy empire + human sacrifice = fun. Lux invicta and all that.

No one knows where the machine that is the Cogitator came from; (Probably built by the Endless) only that the owners (The Cognition) worship it almost as a god. The Cogitator itself is almost like a giant hard-drive or a recycling bin. The entire population of the Cognition is connected to the machine metaphysically through their conscience. When one dies physically their conscience is held in the Cogitator where it can either be "re-downloaded" or "deleted" from existence. So from this function everyone in the Cognition are essentially immortal. It is also from this that the species that is the Cognition believe to have come from; they teach that long ago the Cogitator was activated, by accident or otherwise it is not known. And when it activated it "downloaded" the first people of the Cognition. The Cognition today are governed by the Translator a scientist (really a whole group, but people only see the one person) who is the only one that knows how to control the Cogitator. The Cognition are a peaceful society made mostly up of scholars and scientists; but if the Cogitator were to ever come under threat then the entire populace would rise up to defend it. Also in order to defend the Cogitator the Cognition have an espionage sect of their government dealing with any outside force that could threaten the Cogitator. So speaking of the outside world while the Cognition has no issues communicating with the other factions of Auriga, they do not allow of species to join their society. This is so that the database of the Cogitator is no corrupted.



There is but one great fear in the Cognition society: "What happens when there is a glitch in the system?"





* The people of the Cognition are a Human-esque species. There color pigments only every range from blue, white, or grey when it comes to their eyes and hair. With their skin being a pale white or grey. They also like to wear blue and white paint on their faces. Usually in square shapes, the different markings represent different occupations and age.

* The Cogitator itself is a huge machine; (Think super computer, but almost egg shaped) with huge cables coming off of it in all directions. Surrounding the main body are tons of normal sized screens that allow for interfacing and small machines.







The Cogitator

* When a unit is killed that same unit type can be "re-downloaded" allowing you to build that unit instantly in the Capital city within one turn of it dying.

* A Cognition hero is only every disabled for one turn. (Only a Cognition hero because again they don't want to corrupt the database.)



Firewall

* Does not allow assimilation of minor factions.

* Can not rebuild minor faction cities.

* Penalty to trade due to the caution of allowing others into their cities.



Spyware

* Can infiltrate other faction cities, (minor or major) giving vision of the surrounding area. (like watchtowers.)

* There will be a percentage for a chance that the spy is caught. This will lower the faction's opinion of the Cognition.



Subscription

* Can pacify a minor faction city within a Cognition controlled region. (Due to "selling" the promise for having their consciences uploaded onto the Cogitator. Though it is really just a lie.)

* Costs influence?



Miscellaneous Traits:

* Will include bonuses to science. (Their scientists)

* Will include bonuses to food. (They don't have to feed a expanding population because everyone is immortal)

* Will include penalties to influence. (The Cognition are very cautious to outsiders)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



P.S. I may come back later and add or change things; who knows.

P.S.S. I also didn't want to put and describe to much because I know this is supposed to be done in parts with the community. Which is why there isn't any description as to what their cities and military looks like.

Lore



The deserts of Auriga can be an inhospitable environment. However, it is no coincidence that those lands gave birth to the sun-worshiping Sorex. They are a reptilian species and as such require the warmth of Auriga’s star to regulate their body temperature. Every so hours, they kneel towards the sun and recite prayers for Feroh, the sun-god.



Their religion is the most important aspect of their lives. There is but one god, the god of the sun, Feroh. He gives light, warmth and life. In return, his subjects perform rituals and build temples in his name.

In summer, their cities bustle with activity. Fields are sown, stockpiles are made,... They work from the moment the sun rises till sunset. During the winters however, the Sorex are unable to be outside for prolonged periods. They still work and do day-to-day activities, but only for a few hours a day. The rest of the day, they spend in constant prayer to Feroh.



Although their appearance would suggest otherwise, they are a peaceful civilization. At least, they were. With their whole lives focused on the sun, they were naturally the first to discover a strange phenomenon. Auriga's summers are shortening, while the harsh winters are ever growing. For the Sorex, this is their worst nightmare. The prophecies speak of a time when Feroh will abandon his people and all creation shall be shrouded in endless winter.



The longer the winters get, the more families sacrifice what little they can spare. But how long till they will realize that blood makes a better sacrifice?



Appearance



The Sorex are bipedal reptiles. They wear robes made of coloured linen. The upper castes (priests, High priests/Archon) wear ceremonial robes and have jewelry made of gold and fire crystals. The priests wear just a simple ring. A High Priest wears a circlet. The Archon wears a mask of gold (depiction of Feros).



(Think of Sobek (Egyption God), Argonians (Elder Scrolls), Krogan (Mass Effect))



Architecture



The cities of the Sorex are centred around their temples. The temples are large pyramid-styled buildings that make all others around it look small. At the heart of a city, you'll always find a large ziggurat that dwarves even the large temples (in the game, this would mean that the city centre is only one large structure). It is there that harvest are collected and redistributed. The temples are adorned with large red crystals and many texts and depictions of scenes of the religion. Besides the temples and the ziggurat, the other buildings are simple sandstone structures. When walking around in the city, you will often find large plazas. Those are the places the Sorex use to pray. The walls of the cities are large and often decorated with depictions of Feros.



(Think Egyptian/Babylonian/Game of thrones Meereen)

 

Religion



The Sorex believe in just one god, Feros, the god of the sun. It is he who gives light, warmth and lives on Auriga. He delivers constant battle against the darkness and the cold that wants to engulf the lands. In summers, Feros is strong and rules over Auriga. But the darkness is always attacking him and draining Feros of his strength. When Feros is weakened enough, the darkness strikes and winter comes. It is then the sacred duty of the Sorex to pray. For they believe that all the energy invested in praying goes to Feros. The end of winter is when Feros has regained enough strength to defeat the darkness.



In the rituals of the Sorex, the priests often use red fire crystals which they can use to light enormous fires. To sacrifice goods to Sorex, the offerings are burned. Rituals and ceremonies are public displays. The Sorex believe that the more participate, the stronger the ritual.



Population



The bulk of their population are farmers, who maintain the fields and harvest crops. Each year, they have to give all their crops to the temple, who redistributes them across the people. This system makes it so their work prospers all. Next to farmers, there are also merchants, artisans, engineers, soldiers,… However they are all equal. For example a soldier cannot command a farmer. Neither is there a difference in wealth between them.



Every family has to give their firstborn child to Feros to serve as his priests. They will learn to read and write and learn all the rituals of their religion. Priests are very important for the Sorex. Besides performing Feros’ rituals or doing the cities administrative tasks, they are also leaders. You will often see a Priest at the head of a guild, or an army.



Every city has a triumvirate of high priests. They govern their provinces and lead the most important ceremonies. In times of war, they act as generals. Every year, they convene in the High Council. When one of the three high priests of a city dies, the others have to choose a priest to uplift.



At the head of the nation, stands the Archon. He is Feros' representative on Auriga. The Archon is chosen at birth by the High Council and must be a child of common folk. Because he is the representative of a god, he cannot speak nor act in public. He or she spends most of his time in meditation and prayer. When the High Council convenes, he is the judge and must organise the votes. However, he cannot vote himself. He only has the right to call veto. The Archon remains Archon until his death. Mostly, his death is natural, but when the nation has had long periods of turmoil (disease, drought,...), the High Council can sentence him to death by ingesting poison. Until the new Archon comes of age, the High Council governs the realm.



Faction Traits



- Reptilians: The Sorex have to rely on the sun to control their body temperature. As such they receive bonuses on warm, arid lands. (Higher FIDS on warm, arid lands)



- Cycle of Feros: In summers, The Sorex work all day long (High FIDS bonus). In winters, they have to pray for Feros’ return (High FIDS penalty)



- Downsides of religion: The Sorex must pray during the winters for Feros’ return. During this time they cannot work the fields. Luckily their newfound allies do not believe in the sun-god and do not have to pray. (Every village of an assimilated faction the Sorex possess decrease the High FIDS penalty during winters)



- Allure of the Cult: The temples and monuments dedicated to Feros are truly a sight to behold. (Increased Influence on city districts)



- The prophecy: The prophecy tells of a time when winter shall reign eternal. With each summer being shorter than the ones before, will this mean the end of times? (Each winter gives a small happiness reduction in cities. The longer a winter is, the higher the happiness reduction.



Quests (general idea)



You are a high priest of the Sorex. Times are perilous as there is evidence that summers are getting shorter.



Phase 1: The ceremony.



1) Gather resources for a grand ceremony (looting ruins)

Today, the High Council convened to discuss a rather difficult topic. There are signs that summers are getting shorter. Perhaps Feros is displeased with us? The Archon has ordered a grand ceremony to be organised in honour of Feros. But in order to do so we need sacrifices.



2) Pacify the capital’s province.

The ceremony cannot be disturbed. We must pacify the province and chase off those who would harm us.



3) Upgrade a district for the ceremony.

The sacrifices have been stored safely. No we must make room for the temple and the plaza to be build.



4) Build a temple (special improvement) to house the ceremony.

With enough room, we can finally began the construction of the temple.



5) Hold the ceremony. (no enemies must be present in region in … turns)

The time has come to hold the ceremony. Let us pray to Feros and hope that he will regain his full strength.



Phase 2: Surviving



It is clear the ceremony hasn’t worked. Now your people have to survive and find another way.



1) Settle a new region (region with min of 15 food)

Our numbers are growing, but so are the numbers of mouth to feed. We need to settle in fertile lands.



2) Kill the Archon (send him to search a ruin)

It has become clear to me. The Archon has not gained Feros’ favour with the ritual. Summers are continuing to get shorter.



3) Set Empire Plan ‘Empire and Expansion’ to 3

The former Archon is dead. Soon, the high council will convene to select another one. But he will just be a child, it is up to the High Council to rule until he comes of age. For now, we should invest in the empire.



4) Assimilate Minor Faction

If we want to survive, we need to work the fields in the winter. However we also need every Sorex to pray for Feros. Maybe we need to find help elsewhere



Phase 3: Salvation?

To be continued…



All feedback is welcome

Nosferatiel wrote:
That's a possibility. Let's hope the devs like taking that into account. It would, in any case, reduce the time to vote per bracket for us. That's the main problem with such a system.

Its a really good idea ,im pretty sure the devs can make something like that happen ( i hope :alder, feels a bit more fair .

The Throng



Originally a species of simple pigs, the ancestors of the Throng accidentally dug their way down into an Endless Laboratory; exposed to copious amounts of Dust, the once simple creatures were changed, becoming stronger, becoming smarter, becoming more ambitious…



The Throng are exceptionally xenophobic, a vestige of their extremely territorial nature when still animals. As such, they seek to drive all other species from their home, though since their increase in intelligence, they now consider all of Auriga their home.



The Throng are aware of their relative youth compared to the other factions, and thus suffer from something of an inferiority complex; they try to build their towers, fortresses, and cities larger and more resplendent than any other on the planet. However, their youth also means that most of their construction attempts are very rough and haphazard. A Throng weapon will be no less effective than a Broken Lords or Wild Walkers weapon, but it will certainly look worse.



The Throngs relative skill with production does not go beyond the practical however, and their attempts at art are almost universally awful, when the Throng attempt to create a thing of beauty at all.



Gameplay.



Faction traits:

Rooting in the Mud: The Throng gains +1 Food from Dirt Fields.

Rolling in Filth: The Throng does not suffer Disapproval from Districts on Dirt Fields.

Down and Dirty: The Throng gain +1 industry from hexes.

Territorial: The Throng does not gain the population bonus from Pacified Minor Faction villages.

Ours are the Mighty: The Throng has one extra unit on Second Era.

They are Weak: The Throng cannot assimilate Minor Factions, or build Minor Faction units. Minor Faction units can only be acquired through the Marketplace.

Artistically Impaired: The Throng suffer a 50% penalty on Luxury Goods production, rounded down.



Units.

Era 1.

Hero: Infantry.

Racial abilities:

Slave Drivers: +1/+2/+3 Industry on Districts.

Thick Hide: +2/+3+4 Defense on Hero.

Work Teams +5/+10/+15 Industry on City.

Dug In: +2/+3/+4 Defense on City.

Truffles!: +1/+2/+3 Dust on Districts on Dirt Fields.

Fighting Dirty: +1/+2/+3 Critical Hit chance on Units in the Heroes Army.



Infantry: Grunts, armed with axes and shields. No abilities, just larger than average health.

Support: Death Priest, grants a buff to units for every enemy destroyed during the current battle.



Era 2.

Cavalry: Boar Riders, armed with spears. Gore ability grants slight bonus damage when attacking first in battle.

Ranged: Mortars, armed with cannons; does less damage per shot, but hit all hexes surrounding the target hex.



Main quest sketch.



The Throng quest begins with the Throng attempting to conquer the planet, only to eventually stumble upon the fact that Auriga is dying. The Throng, having no concept of space travel, believing that their gods live in the stars, decided that they will build a Great Monument; a mighty tower, a bridge to the realm of the Gods, that will allow them to escape to the Gods realm and avoid the death of Auriga.



1. Get off our turf!: Pacify all Minor Faction villages in your Empire.

2. Treasures!: Search 3 Ruins -> Reach the Second Era of Technology.

3. Way of the Warrior: Unlock 1 new Unit Type -> Build an Army containing at least 3 different Units -> Destroy 3 Roaming Armies.

4. Our Influence Grows!: Upgrade a City Center and a District to level 2.

5. Our Origins: Search the Auriga Ruins -> Search the Untainted Ruins -> Destroy the Army.

6. The Builders: Assign the new Hero to a City for 10 Turns -> Reach the Third Era of Technology.

7. Within our Reach: Research the “Great Monument” Technology -> Make sure there are no enemies in your starting territory in 10 turns.

8. Immortality of the Throng: Build the Great Monument Improvement in one of your cities.



Symbol: A boars head.



Cities: A collection of ramshackle huts, made of wood, stone, metal sheets and straw roofs. Tier 2 Districts and City Centers have large castle's in states of disrepair, the Throng being generally bad at maintainging their buildings beyond simply remaining fuctional.



Ship: A ramshackle, if rather large, raft.

Flybert wrote:
The Sorex



...

This one really does sound like the Solarians. Just with lizards. Hopefully either you, me, or somebody else with some sun worshipers will win--we've gotta have a sun cult faction.

It's getting harder and harder to read all of the entries, there's so many of them. And it's great!

Though I already feel so, so very sorry for the devs. They will probably have to select just a few entries out of the ones we posted for the vote, like they did in DotE. And it will probably be painful to exclude some of those amazing suggestions Just this once, I'm happy I'm not a dev

dreamwalker wrote:
This one really does sound like the Solarians. Just with lizards. Hopefully either you, me, or somebody else with some sun worshipers will win--we've gotta have a sun cult faction.

Live your lives and dream your dreams... while you still can. Soon, Mesaima will do that for you

PANCZASU wrote:
It's getting harder and harder to read all of the entries, there's so many of them. And it's great!

Though I already feel so, so very sorry for the devs. They will probably have to select just a few entries out of the ones we posted for the vote, like they did in DotE. And it will probably be painful to exclude some of those amazing suggestions Just this once, I'm happy I'm not a dev

Aggressive advertising battles are on!



That aside, I'm sure they will be capable of throwing out a few that didn't stick to the rules, then put everything else to the vote. They don't have to actually read it beyond two things: It has to be far enough away from any kind of other faction that's already set and it needs to be doable ingame. If it's not remotely realistic to put it into the game, they probably won't put it to a vote, either.

I concur, there are a lot of great factions ideas here already to chose from and I am sure the vote will very divided. Instant run-off voting would insure that the most popular faction would win and the majority of us would be happy. Great idea but I doubt the devs will change the rules considering that they have already posted the competition.

dreamwalker wrote:
This one really does sound like the Solarians. Just with lizards. Hopefully either you, me, or somebody else with some sun worshipers will win--we've gotta have a sun cult faction.

Ow, i hadn't read the other postings before I wrote my own. Kinda funny actually, such similar ideas

PANCZASU wrote:
Live your lives and dream your dreams... while you still can. Soon, Mesaima will do that for you

The light of Sol Invictus will burn away the unbelievers. Repent while you can, heretic! lol

Flybert wrote:
Ow, i hadn't read the other postings before I wrote my own. Kinda funny actually, such similar ideas

It's cause sun cult factions, are the best factions.