Lasoreth Era (2 Factions + Default Concept)

[Sire]

I decided to post the concepts and details of my two custom factions "Nether Forces" and "Nether Prime", here on the forums to compile feedback. Please note that I do not have access to an actual artist to make proper sprites, so these concepts are likely to remain concepts for the immediate future.

These two factions are meant to be showcased in my "Lasoreth Saga" series of campaigns, which primarily uses mainline units and factions. As such, "Nether Forces" and "Nether Prime" are meant to be somewhat balanced against the default factions, but tuned up being an "Enemy-Only" faction.

Edit: Well, I'm done formatting. Feel free to comment and discuss!

[Sire]

Description: The Nether Forces represent the mortal "coverts" who follow Lasoreth, the Nether Goddess. Thematically, they represent the stereotypical sacrificial cult, fielding Zealots, Cultists, and Priests alongside proper beings from the Nether such as Nether Observers and Nether Shades. Gameplay wise, they have variety of different units to choose from and tend to be more expensive than other factions due to their power.

Alignment: All units are Neutral, save for the Nether Observer and Nether Shade lines, which are Liminal.
Traits: The initial release will follow normal Wesnoth standards for traits, and "Nether Forces" will be represented by Humans. However, I have a crazy idea for a custom trait and variant system, please click on its heading for more details.

Detailed, Insane Trait Idea:

The Nether Forces, upon recruitment or being spawned, will randomly choose a variant of the unit that reflects a race in Wesnoth (Humans, Elves, Orcs, Drakes, etc.). Based off the race, the unit will gain different “traits” that reflect that race instead of normal traits.
- EXCEPTIONS: The Nether Shade and Nether Observer are “Nether Prime” units, and have no traits whatsoever.
- ALTERNATIVE: The extra races just serve as skins and have no gameplay effect.

For example... (Stats are subject to change.)
General (All races will have their general hit chances and move type applied to the unit. So, Elves are better in forests, Dwarves in mountains, etc.)

Humans (Level up faster and have innate Arcane resistance.)
Dwarves (Have more base HP and per level)
Elves (Move faster, but suffers from Arcane resistance.)
Undead (Can submerge and gains Skeleton resistances)

Orcs (Do more damage in both melee and ranged attacks.)
Trolls (Regenerate, but level up slower)
Goblin (Has less HP and Damage, but refunds some of the cost to recruit this unit.)

Drakes (Flies and gains Drake resistances)
Saurians (Skirmishes and gains Saurian resistances)

I understand that this much random variation is likely imbalanced, but I would like to represent the Nether Forces thematically as multiple races follow Lasoreth, not just Humans. Granted, Elves and Humans are the most likely to follow Lasoreth, but she can also have other followers or those under her sway.

Nether Forces - Unit List:

24 Units (1 Tier 0 // 6 Tier 1 // 8 Tier 2 // 8 Tier 3 // 1 Tier 4 )

Nether Zealot
-> Nether Phalanx -> Nether Centurion (Standard Fighter)
-> Nether Weaponmaster -> Nether Ascendant (Agile Fighter)
-> Nether Destroyer -> Nether Executioner (Tank)

Nether Priest -> Nether Acolyte -> Nether Bishop -> Nether Hierophant (Basic Healing & Leadership, See "Concerns" for detailed information.)

Nether Cultist
-> Nether Warlock -> Nether Metamorph (Mage Tank)
-> Nether Summoner -> Nether Conjurer (Summoner, uses "Plague" and summons Nether Shades.)

Nether Outrider -> Nether Manhunter -> Nether Silencer (Mounted Utility)

Nether Observer -> Nether Herald -> Eye of Lasoreth (Flying Scout)

Nether Shade (T0) -> Nether Phantom (T1) (Magic Fodder)

Detailed Stats - In Development:

Please note that most of these numbers are arbitrary and are meant to give a general idea of the unit's purpose. Detailed feedback on these values would be appreciated, as well as the extended information.

Nether Zealot (T1) || HP: 40 || Movement: 5 || Cost: 18
Sword (Melee, Blade) 6-4
Spear (Melee, Pierce, Firststrike) 7-3

Nether Phalanx (T2) || HP: 55 || Movement: 5
Spear (Melee, Pierce, Firststrike) 10-3
Javelin (Ranged, Pierce) 18-1

Nether Centurion (T3) || HP: 70 || Movement: 5
Spear (Melee, Pierce, Firststrike) 15-3
Javelin (Ranged, Pierce) 18-2

Nether Weaponmaster (T2) || HP: 45 || Movement: 6
Sword (Melee, Blade, Marksman, Counter) 7-4
Spear (Melee, Pierce, Marksman, Counter) 9-3 || Counter: Deals double damage, but only when defending.
Hammer (Melee, Impact, Marksman, Counter) 14-2

Nether Ascendant (T3) || HP: 60 || Movement: 6
Sword (Melee, Blade, Marksman, Counter) 7-5
Spear (Melee, Pierce, Marksman, Counter) 12-3 || Counter: Deals double damage, but only when defending.
Hammer (Melee, Impact, Marksman, Counter) 17-2

Nether Destroyer (T2) || HP: 50 || Movement: 4
Glaive (Melee, Blade) 15-2
Charge (Melee, Impact, Charge) 18-1

Nether Executioner (T3) || HP: 60 || Movement: 4
Glaive (Melee, Blade) 20-2
Charge (Melee, Impact, Charge) 24-1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Priest (T1) || HP: 28 || Movement: 5 || Cost: 20
Heals+4
Sword (Melee, Blade) 5-2
Blade (Ranged, Blade, Magical) 10-2

Nether Acolyte (T2) || HP: 38 || Movement: 5
Heals+4, Cures, Leadership 2
Sword (Melee, Blade) 7-2
Blade (Ranged, Blade, Magical) 10-3

Nether Bishop (T3) || HP: 48 || Movement: 5
Heals+4, Cures, Leadership 3
Sword (Melee, Blade) 9-2
Blade (Ranged, Blade, Magical) 10-4

Nether Hierophant (T4) || HP: 58 || Movement: 5
Heals+4, Cures, Leadership 4
Sword (Melee, Blade) 11-2
Blade (Ranged, Blade, Magical) 10-5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Cultist (T1) || HP: 26 || Movement: 5 || Cost: 16
Sword (Melee, Blade) 6-2
Nether Storm (Ranged, Fire, Magical) 11-2

Nether Summoner (T2) || HP: 36 || Movement: 5
Staff (Melee, Impact) 8-2
Sacrifice (Ranged, Fire, Magical, Summon) 25-1 || Summon: A "modified Plague" ability, summons Nether Shades.

Nether Conjurer (T3) || HP: 46 || Movement: 5
Staff (Melee, Impact) 10-2
Sacrifice (Ranged, Fire, Magical, Summon) 37-1 || Summon: A "modified Plague" ability, summons Nether Shades.

Nether Warlock (T2) || HP: 45 || Movement: 5
Sword (Melee, Blade) 9-2
Life Drain (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Drain) 12-2
Nether Storm (Ranged, Fire, Magical) 11-3

Nether Metamorph (T3) || HP: 55 || Movement: 5
Claws (Melee, Blade, Magical, Drain) 10-3
Life Drain (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Drain) 16-2
Nether Storm (Ranged, Fire, Magical) 13-3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Observer (T1) || HP: 25 || Movement: 8 || Cost: 20
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 8-1
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 8-2

Nether Herald (T2) || HP: 35 || Movement: 8
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 12-1
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 12-2

Eye of Lasoreth (T3) || HP: 45 || Movement: 8
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 12-2
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 14-3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Outrider (T1) || HP: 38 || Movement: 8 || Cost: 20
Mace (Melee, Impact) 6-3
Poison Bolt (Ranged, Poison) 5-2

Nether Manhnter (T2) || HP: 55 || Movement: 8
Nightstalk
Mace (Melee, Impact, Backstab) 7-3
Poison Bolt (Ranged, Poison) 7-2

Nether Silencer (T3) || HP: 55 || Movement: 8
Nightstalk
Mace (Melee, Impact, Backstab) 8-3
Poison Bolt (Ranged, Poison) 9-2
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Shade (T0) || HP: 15 || Movement: 5 || Cost: 10
Can appear from successful Summons
Sword (Melee, Blade, Magical) 6-3

Nether Phantom (T1) || HP: 25 || Movement: 5
Sword (Melee, Blade, Magical) 8-3

Concerns:

Overall, Nether Forces is meant to be more of a thematic faction representing that of the stereotypical sacrificial cult. Gameplay wise, they are meant to be powerful (blessed by Lasoreth) as they are typically “Enemy-Only” units in the campaign series I wish to make, but I would like to balance out Nether Forces for some form of multiplayer play as well.
-One way to accomplish this is to make Nether Forces expensive, like Drakes, but I feel doing so will simple make Nether Forces "Expensive Neutral Units & Liminal" versus Drake's "Expensive Lawful Units & Chaotic Support".

I want Nether Zealots to be the “flagship unit” of Nether Forces, much like how Spearman are commonplace in a Loyalist army. However, I fear they may be too expensive compared to other options, and am unsure if they will be fielded more than the other units.

I don’t know what to do with the Nether Priest line. Thematically, I want to include to include a “Blade Bishop” (a bishop who fights with floating swords), but in terms of how to translate that into Wesnoth and the Nether Forces faction, I have no idea.
- Currently, it serves as a hybrid unit between “healer, magic archer, and leadership unit”.
- Originally in terms of unit roles, I want Nether Priests to be a twist on the classic “Archer” archetype in that it does ranged Blade damage instead of Pierce.

Nether Cultists are meant to be more of a “Mage Tank” than other mages, in that they have magical attacks but also have better melee capabilities than most mages. This translates into the Warlord and Metamorph upgrades, which grants the mage Drain, which is a powerful combination.
- I also wanted to include a Summoner as a thematic and gameplay element, so there is the Summoner line. It uses a modified Plague ability to summon Nether Shades, but I wonder how powerful this will be.

Nether Outriders was a later addition to the original faction, as I liked the thematic idea of mounted cult members using a net and mace to capture sacrifices. However, as I have already given Nether Observers the Slow ability, I changed out the Slowing Net to Poisoned Bolts.
- Honestly, the inclusion of Nether Outriders is more of a thematic one than a gameplay one. I just really like the idea that the Nether Forces uses these to capture people for their rituals.

Nether Observers serve as a special scout unit for the Nether Forces. It is essentially a giant floating eyeball and is meant to be a weak scout, but has Slow for some utility after capturing the villages are done.

Nether Shades serve as cannon fodder, but as they represent “properly” the Nether, they may be more powerful than their other Tier 0 counterparts, especially with the Magic attacks. However, being Liminal, having Magic Attacks, and 0% resistances are traits of “Nether Prime”, so I will not change those aspects of this unit.

[Sire]

Description: The Nether Prime faction serve as the actual beings from the Nether itself. Thematically, they represent a combination of both demon and natural elements, which is meant to showcase a "corrupt Faerie" side. Gameplay wise, Nether Prime can be considered broken due to its reliance on high HP and combination of various specials, as well as abusing how Damage Resistance works with their two main units, Avatars and Manifestations.

Alignment: All units are Liminal, as Nether Prime units are unaccustomed to fighting in the world of Wesnoth.
Traits: Nether Prime units receive no traits. However, they are share having high HP, 0 in all resistances, and having magic attacks.

Nether Prime - Unit List:

Nether Avatar -> Nether Incarnate -> Nether Deity (Melee Attacker)
Nether Manifestation -> Nether ??? -> Nether Deity (Ranged Attacker)

Nether Ironclad -> Nether Steelclad -> Nether Juggernaut (Regen Tank)

Nether Hunter (Harassment Skirmisher)
-> Nether Wolf -> Nether Hound (Poison, Backstab)
-> Nether Stalker -> Nether Nightmare (Hide, Charge)

Nether Alra -> Nether Alraune
-> -> Nether Venus (Defensive Support)
-> -> Nether Lilith (Offensive Support)

Nether Observer -> Nether Herald -> Eye of Lasoreth (Flying Scout)

Nether Shade (T0) -> Nether Phantom (T1) (Magic Fodder)

Detailed Stats - In Development:

Note on the Nether Avatar and Nether Manifestation line: These units have access to all six damage types, but are locked to pure melee and pure range respectively. However, upon reaching Tier 3, they become a Nether Deity, which bypasses this weakness as Deities have both melee and ranged attacks across the entire spectrum. This access is essential to both of their unit gimmicks.

Nether Avatar (T1) || HP: 30 || Movement: 5 || Cost: ??
Nether "x" (Melee, Magical, "x") 5-4

Nether Manifestation (T1) || HP: 30 || Movement: 5
Nether “y” (Ranged, Magical, “y”) 5-4

Nether Incarnation (T2) || HP: 40 || Movement: 5
Nether “x” (Melee, Magical, “x”) 8-4

Nether Deity (T3) || HP: 50 || Movement: 5
Nether “x” (Melee, Magical, “x”) 10-4
Nether “y” (Ranged, Magical, “y”) 10-4
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Ironclad (T1) || HP: 50 || Movement: 4 || Cost: ??
Regeneration 8
Glaive (Melee, Magical, Blade) 15-1
Thunder (Ranged, Magical, Fire) 12-1

Nether Steelclad (T2) || HP: 65 || Movement: 4
Regeneration 16
Glaive (Melee, Magical Blade) 15-2
Thunder (Ranged, Magical, Fire) 18-1

Nether Juggernaut (T3) || HP: 80 || Movement: 4
Regeneration 24
Glaive (Melee, Magical, Blade) 15-3
Thunder (Ranged, Magical, Fire) 24-1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Hunter (T1) || HP: 25 || Movement: 8 || Cost: ??
Skirmisher
Nether Bite (Melee, Magical, Blade, Poison, Backstab) 4-2

Nether Wolf (T2) || HP: 25 || Movement: 8 || Cost: ??
Skirmisher
Nether Bite (Melee, Magical, Blade, Poison, Backstab) 5-3

Nether Stalker (T2) || HP: 25 || Movement: 8 || Cost: ??
Skirmisher, Hide || Hide: Temporary Name. This unit is invisible during day and night, only becoming visible during dawn and dusk (which happens to be when it is strongest).
Nether Bite (Melee, Magical, Blade, Charge) 8-3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Alra (T1) || HP: 28 || Movement: 4 || Cost: ??
Allure || Adjacent enemy units do 25% less damage.
Impale (Melee, Magical, Pierce) 18-1
Entangle (Ranged, Magical, Impact, Slow) 6-2

Nether Alraune (T2) || HP: 38 || Movement: 4
Allure || Adjacent enemy units do 25% less damage.
Impale (Melee, Magical, Pierce) 28-1
Entangle (Ranged, Magical, Impact, Slow) 12-2

Nether Venus (T3) || HP: 48 || Movement: 4
Allure || Adjacent enemy units do 25% less damage.
Impale (Melee, Magical, Pierce) 40-1
Entangle (Ranged, Magical, Impact, Slow) 18-2

Nether Lilith (T3) || HP: 52 || Movement: 4
Allure || Adjacent enemy units do 25% less damage.
Drain (Melee, Magical, Arcane, Drain) 10-4
Thorns (Ranged, Magical, Pierce, Poison) 10-4
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Observer (T1) || HP: 25 || Movement: 8 || Cost: 20
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 8-1
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 8-2

Nether Herald (T2) || HP: 35 || Movement: 8
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 12-1
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 12-2

Eye of Lasoreth (T3) || HP: 45 || Movement: 8
Ram (Melee, Impact, Magical) 12-2
Gaze (Ranged, Arcane, Magical, Slow) 14-3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nether Shade (T0) || HP: 15 || Movement: 5 || Cost: 10
Can appear from successful Summons
Sword (Melee, Blade, Magical) 6-3

Nether Phantom (T1) || HP: 25 || Movement: 5
Sword (Melee, Blade, Magical) 8-3

Concerns:

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Let us begin by addressing the elephant in the room, "innate access to magic attacks". When I first came up with the concept of an otherworldly, "Enemy-Only" faction, I thought giving them all magical attacks would be a nice thematic idea. Perhaps it is in terms of theme, but in terms of gameplay, it does two things to Nether Prime. The first is that since everyone has access to Magic Attacks, what makes each unit different from each other outside of role? Second, since everyone has magical attacks, units that focus on dodging are pointless when going up against Nether Prime, which will likely hurt the fun factor of being pitted up against the faction.

This also hits snag when attempting to come up with fun ideas for units, since everyone is magical, what's the point of other units outside of utility? While a part of me doesn't want to do it so I could stick with the theme, I may have to end up scrapping the "Everyone has magic attacks!" idea because of how ridiculous it is.

Nether Avatars and Nether Manifestations are two mainstays of Nether Prime, and I really want them in because of their gimmick. Essentially, Avatars take the form of nude men while Manifestations are nude woman, with Avatars being melee only and Manifestations being pure ranged. This all changed upon reaching Level 3, Nether Deity, which both promote into after their unique Level 2 promotions. I like the idea of the Nether Deity being able to exploit the damage system, he / she can do as much damage as possible, or hold back to play with the opponent (and perhaps feed a lower level unit).

Ironclads represent the ideal Nether Prime tank unit, having insane HP and insane regeneration. Their DPS is lacking, but they can hurt enemies both in melee and ranged, making them ideal damage soakers. If I have any concerns, it is that they may deal too much damage, as they are meant to be more tanks than damage dealers.

Nether Hunters and its promotion is meant to be the most annoying unit in the game. Having Poison and Backstab on the same attack is a deadly combo. Poison can work its magic until a Backstab finisher can be set up, or Backstab can be used with Poison to render the unit extremely wounded. Then, there is the other promotion path, which as an ability that makes the Stalker and Nightmare invisible unless it is dawn or dusk. Combined with the Charge ability, I want these units to instill fear into players when opposing them.

Guess where the Alra line comes from? I envision these units as support due to their "Allure" ability, but they can deal out good amounts of damage on their own. I want these units to be powerful and special, and losing one should be costly in both gold and how long it gets these units to actually get anywhere.

The Nether Observer and Nether Shade units were not originally part of Nether Prime as they were created for the Nether Forces faction instead. However, given that they are "technically" from the Nether proper, I figured it made some sense to include them in Nether Prime for the time being. However, they may be cut as Nether Prime is nowhere near as developed as Nether Forces.

Essentially, Nether Prime is meant to be somewhat unfair, but still fun to play against.

[ForestDragon]

cool idea! and about art, you can recolor some units from Chaos Empire (aka IftU) and about nude units, maybe use recolored IftU faeries