Era of Ideologies (Title Pending) 0.0.0

[Hexapuma]

This is merely a set of ideas I've had floating around and would like feedback on before trying to develop. They essentially slot into existing mechanics, but with a few new effects.

Forces of Change:
The only thing members of the group known collectively by reigning aristocrats as the "Forces of Change" have in common are their dreams of a different world and a better self. This ranges from adventurous youths hoping to make a difference, to country lords truly sympathetic to the people they govern, to disillusioned soldiers who seek to overthrow the system they no longer serve. Any semblence of unity here is likely either temporary or of convienience; rarely if ever do truly massive "Armies of Change" ever form. When someone plans for rebellion, however, the many and varied individuals of the "Forces of Change" are certain to be there, whether they intend it or not.

Focus on small group tactics, individual durability, and massive versatility from the true core unit. Low to medium experience and monetary cost for weak early units pay off enormously as classes improve. Minimal variety among T1 units leads into vast diversity at T2 and T3, especially from core melee and ranged units

Units - All Change units are neutral unless otherwise specified. All health and damage values increase slightly with each level, only new attacks are specified.

Patron - Nobles who desire a change to the status quo, whether to better life for everyone or merely to expand their own power base, often provide surreptitious funding for militias and those hostile to the system. Although their gold is welcome, their presence often is not - they are reminders of what their hirelings want to change, and are generally expected to get underfoot.
20 Gold
34 Exp
26 HP, default Human defenses
Move 5
Sabre 4-3 Blade, Bow 4-3 Piercing
Lawful
No upkeep cost, +2G income provided, Demoralize-Reduce adjacent allied damage by 10% (opposite of Leadership)
Changes to Sympethizer +3G income boost->Director -Demoralize, +4G income boost

Aspirant - Perhaps one thing is constant among the youths of Wesnoth's humans - they all aspire to be more than they are. Few ever actually manage to act on this urge, and those that do have little else in common. They range from mere children to young adults and from innocent farmhands to hardened thieves, but they all seem to journey towards something. Rarely do they know what that something is, so often they just journey, and thus they have hardened their bodies beyond what one would expect. When bands of these young adventurers gather, they can forge bonds that last a lifetime. In Wesnoth, however, that is liable to be all too short a span.
13 Gold
20 Exp
31 HP, slightly enhanced Human defenses in all terrain but no resistances
Move 6, no terrain penalties except in mountains and water
Fist 4-4 Impact
Skirmisher, Determination (+20% damage resistance at <25% HP)
Changes to Stinger +Bow 3-7 Pierce, 1 Move->Striker; Companion -Fist +Axe 9-3 Blade, Shield Slam 10-2 Impact, 10% all resistances, Leadership->Protector +Hand Axe 11-2 Ranged Blade, Distract; Challenger->Champion->Master +Firststrike, Pulse 7-4 Ranged Impact; Surrogate +Cures, Heal4->Caretaker +Heal8

Firebrand - There is rarely any need for a lord to pull strings behind a rebellion. If a young man returns from war bitter and heartbroken, he may decide that there is no reason to live. Or, he may decide that there is no reason for whoever forced him to fight in the first place to live, instead. The latter often call for redress of the wrongs done to them, and, when all else fails, rally like-minded individuals to overthrow the source of any percieved injustice.
16 Gold
28 Exp
34 HP, standard Human defenses, Spearman resistances
Move 5
Spear 7-3 Pierce, Javelin 8-1 Ranged Pierce
No Effects
Changes to Rebel->Revolutionary +Horse, Cavalryman Defenses/Resistances, 3 Move

Kinetic - There is change, and there is change. Some desire differences to escape persecution, or simply cause chaos for its own sake. Chief among these are a new breed of "mage" who masters the physical world not through dusty tomes but rather through their own minds. These people are mistrusted, often rightly, by all as their sanity is normally questionable. They will flock to the banner of one who promises equality, however.
18 Gold
30 Exp
22 HP, standard Mage defenses and resistances
Move 5
Manipulate 4-3 Impact, Kinesis 6-3 Ranged Impact
Chaotic
Demoralize
Changes to Outcast +1 Move->Prodigy -Demoralize +Illusion (+10% defense for adjacent allies, -10% defense for enemies); Manipulator +Mind War 19-1 Ranged/Melee Arcane Slowing Backfire (Damages user on miss)->Subjugator -Backfire

I only want feedback at this stage, and there are two more factions to come - Timesingers and Blackwing (names pending, as with the above). Thank you in advance.

[sLaughter]

I would be very interested to see how a unit like the Patron works out in-game. At first, I was ready to dismiss the negative upkeep as dangerously exploitable, but in Wesnoth, enemy units are a sort of resource. If you get 8 xp from killing a relatively weak Patron and your units can catch those patrons, they may very well end up being white elephants for a Forces of Change player without map control. So there's that.

In any case, your xp values for level-ups are uniformly very very low. Remember that most people play their MP games at 70% xp needed and everybody is levelling up insanely quick. Compare your values to those found in the default mod, where the average appears to be about 40-50, and your units will level up extremely, even uncomfortably quickly.

[Hexapuma]

If I'm honest, I was setting those exp values to actually be the 70% multiplayer ones, which I am most used to seeing. I'll check for the base values. Thank you for pointing that out, I would have missed it completely otherwise.

[Hexapuma]

The Blackwing:
Perhaps the most dreaded danger to plague the lands of Wesnoth and beyond is the Undead menace. Rarely are those who even mention necromancy permitted to survive in the civilized lands, for the image of undeath is one of slavering hordes of mindless ruins butchering in the name of their dark master.
This was not always the case.
Recently, villages on the southwestern coast of the realm of Wesnoth have seen the recently deceased walking again, but something has held them back from calling the guard to destroy the corpse. Unlike "traditional" undead, this new breed has a resolute, self-aware quality that seems remarkably alive. There are even reports of these reanimated bodies conversing with those they once knew. And the message they bring is one few know how to answer. A body of bodies has begun preaching the word of the Raven King, perhaps the first necromancer ever to exist. They offer true immortality, but the price is death. Only those recently slain can be returned to unlife, but when they are resurrected, they are free to pursue whatever path they may. Death, however, is as repellant to the living as it has always been, and these seemingly benevolent death-priests have met with violence wherever they go. Only time will tell what becomes of the teachings of the Raven King.

Turns the concept of Undead on its head by providing small numbers of expensive but incredibly capable units. A combination of Draconian firepower and Undead survivability make a solid core of Blackwing extremely hard to break, but their lack of movement in unexplored terrain makes their offenses avoidable for an informed adversary.

Units - Despite other differences from traditional Undead, Blackwing units are Chaotic unless otherwise specified

Newborn - The recently returned are endearingly known as "newborn" by the Raven Priest who raised them. They may have been granted the gift of immortality, but often it takes months for a newborn to accept their undead form and the prospect of eternal "life." Until then, they remain slow and clumsy, unsure of what they are and resentful of their curtailed former lives. The chaos of combat is often enough to rid them of these inhibitions.
15 Gold
12 Exp (T0 unit)
26 HP, Heavy defenses and no resistances
4 Move
Strike 3-3 Impact
No Effects
Changes into any Deathless unit

Raven Priest - Only those who offered their mortal lives willingly are even considered for the missionaries of the Blackwing. If the Ravenhosts go to war, the Priests are at the forefront of the fight, calling for the surrender of their foes and restoring their allies. In times of peace, the Raven Priests are instead responsible for spreading their message and offering death - and a new life - to those who desire it.
42 Gold
95 Exp (T2 unit)
41 HP, Dark Sorceror defenses and resistances
5 Move
Knife 4-2 Plagued Blade, Luna 14-2 Magical Ranged Arcane
Heal+4
Changes to Raven Prophet +Leadership->Raven Prince +Nightfall 28-1 Magical Ranged Arcane

Undying Mage - Many who are granted the Raven King's gift choose to pursue studies they never could have in life, mastering the flows of magic and uncovering many arts both forgotten and undreamed of in the eternity they possess. Although unwilling to risk their newfound immortality in combat, if they are forced to fight they do so with forces never seen by a living man or elf.
37 Gold
52 Exp
27 HP, Mage defenses, Ghoul physical resistances, Dark Adept magical/elemental resistances
4 Move
Staff 6-1 Impact, Heartfire 10-3 Magical Ranged Fire
No effects
Changes to Deathless Mage +Solaren 12-3 Magical Ranged Arcane->Eternal Mage; Deathless Sage +Teleport->Eternal Sage -Heartfire +Starflame 19-2 Magical Ranged Arcane

Undying Apothecary - Some who are born again pursue, rather ironically, the arts of healing and sustaining life. If the greatest apothecaries and surgeons known to mankind required years of study and training to even enter the field, imagine what could become of them after millenia of honing their skills.
33 Gold
38 Exp
28 HP, Standard Human defenses, Ghoul physical resistances, Dark Adept magical/elemental resistances
4 Move
Swift Poison 8-1 Poisoning Ranged Fire
Cures, Heal4
Changes to Deathless Surgeon +Heal8->Aesculapius +1 Move, +Heal12

Undying Soldier - Many who fight the Blackwing find themselves in its service not long after. As they retain their memories from the life before, it is unsuprising that a large number become soldiers, honing their skill-at-arms for eternity if for no other reason than simply to master what they failed at before. These form a solid backbone to missionary forces seeking to force their gift on those who would not recieve it freely.
36 Gold
48 Exp
42 HP, Skeletal defenses, Skeletal physical resistances, no magical/elemental resistances
4 Move
Spear 10-2 Pierce
No effects
Changes to Deathless Veteran +Bow 5-3 Ranged Pierce->Eternal Sentinel +Shield Bash 12-2 Stunning Impact

Undying Fighter - As many soldiers as there are who recieve the gift of the Blackwing, many more were simply militia in life, who refused to lay down their lives until they no longer had a choice. Bitter and resentful of their useless deaths before, they drive themselves to exhaustion even in their deathless state punishing the world, and, by extension, themselves. They have even developed a way to punish the Ravenguard, by destroying themselves along with their foes. Although they are promptly reanimated after the battle, this gives the most brokenhearted among them a chance to repay their "tormentors" for as long as the living resist.
34 Gold
41 Exp
48 HP, Skeletal defenses and resistances
4 Move
Axe 6-4 Berserker Blade, Hammer Throw 8-1 Ranged Impact
No effects
Changes to Deathless Berserker->Eternal Warrior

Undying Archer - When an archer of men or elves is reborn, often they turn to their old weapon and spend their eternity training until they can split their own arrows in the center of a target at a half-mile with every shot. Or so they dream.
35 Gold
48 Exp
43 HP, Skeletal defenses, Ghoul physical resistances, no magical/elemental resistances
4 move
Shortsword 6-2 Blade, Bow 7-3 Ranged Pierce
No effects
Changes to Deathless Sniper +Marksman->Eternal Raveneye

[Hexapuma]

Timesingers:
It has been said that heroes long dead live on in song and story. Less known than that saying is that a secretive group has found it to be entirely true. Certain people, but only a rare few, have the skill required to actually bring the spirits of their subjects back to the material world. However, until they slip back, only one person may control a given hero, heroine. . .or villain. Thus, the performers are organized by tale so that only one Timesinger will "own" the cast of a given story, and evil/bitter characters are magically sealed into talismans to prevent their causing harm. This intense focus on the past has caused the Timesingers to develop a unique ideology. They know of the evil and wrong that has existed from the dawn of history and remains today, but they cannot bear to see new stories come that change the world they know from song. Thus, they militarize their performances surprisingly often to maintain stasis in Wesnoth, although amazingly few know them for what they are. When they release the contained spirit of an Ancient Lich or Fire Dragon, however, the world rightfully trembles.

Control-oriented army with many limiting abilities and effects. The Timesong are capable of delivering absurd ranged firepower rapidly, but their uniform fragility and the effect attached to their strongest attack make an offensive difficult to sustain.

Units to come

[Hexapuma]

Guardians of the World:

With the seemingly unstoppable spread of the Blackwing, the endless stream of Orcs and Undead, and a ceaseless round of revolutions from country lords, concerned nobles and commoners both have elected to form an army to defend what they know. Grandiloquently titled "The Guardians of the World," they ride out in search of traitors, deserters, Undead, and those who are different than they themselves are. Their weapons are shock and terror; where they ride out together, executions and atrocities follow. When they take the field against an organized enemy rather than a village that said the wrong thing, however, they are undeniably intimidating. Silver cloaks and gold-wrapped lances (gifts of the aristocrats who guide the movement) glitter in the sun as rank upon rank of cavalry readies itself for the glorious charge, with which they mean to scour the foe from the world.

The Guardians have one tactic - the charge - and one strategy - the charge. They have many powerful cavalry supported by barely cost-effective infantry who exist mostly to offer special support (normally involving fire) or to screen the horsemen while they recover. Although this seems like a plan too straightforward to work, it is surprisingly effective.

Units to come

[styles1005]

1. Did you read my mind? A lot of the unit names from the Forces of Change are taken exactly from my ideas. And I haven't posted them, either!

2. Blackwing? Raven Priests? Have you been reading OotS? Anyway, the fluff sounds great.