Res magica serenissima: faction concept.

[mehmode]

Hello. I have a faction concept I'd like to share with you, and possibly recruit some help here [I will contribute writing, design and map-making to the project if there is interest.].

As you have gleaned from the title, it's based very roughly on renaissance Venice. However, political power rests in the Towers: households of powerful mages. It is those mages that form the governing body, their apprentices who fuel the economic growth, and their creations who serve in armies and do menial work.
In addition to golems and constructs, the Republic can raise a militia in times of need. Composed of well drilled troops, often equipped with magically-enhanced weapons, this corps is more than a match for any other army. If those measures fail, the wizards turn to condotieri, captains of mercenary companies. They bring exotic creatures, elite troops and strange, foreign magic to bear on the foe. And if that is not enough, the masters of the Towers form the final line of defense, and their power rivals that of the lords of Alduin.

That's the fluffy part.

How does that translate into units?
There are three 'branches' of this faction's army and each fulfills a different role.
Militia troops are relatively cheap and weak, but well equippend and trained. They will have little hp and resistances, but good terrain defense and weapon-related abilities.
Constructs are the heavies. Expensive, slow to advance and with low defense, but high resistances. Most of them will have multiple forms of attack.
Condotieri form the auxilliary corps: skirmishers, monsters, sorcerers and the like, plus two solid human units.
Finally, wizards. Starting from apprentice, there will be three paths: Leader, Nuclear Device and Skirmisher, going as far as level four.


So, would you be interested in playing such a faction in Wesnoth?

[Araja]

What does "Nuclear Device" have to do with Renaissance wizards?

[Blarumyrran]

Maybe something like "the monstrous nuclear chaos beyond angled space which the Necronomicon had mercifully cloaked under the name of Azathoth"

[mehmode]

It's merely to indicate a path focusing on offense, most likely with two different magical attacks, one of which will be arcane based (Fluff: it's to deal with rebellious constructs. There might be a 'keeper' unit for that, too.)
Renaissance-style 'wizards', that is alchemists, astrologers and the like might be level two or three units.

[artisticdude]

The monstrous nucular chaos... sounds good to me.

[mehmode]

An example unit with three advancement paths to flesh it out a bit [no stats, since there is nothing coded yet].
(I aim at making units interdependent to some degree, so there is incentive to recruit specific combos, in line with fluff.)

->Golem: L1
Golems are ubiquitous among the Towers. They carry loads, work simple menial jobs and assist apprentices. Some are drafted into the militia to move siege equipment and help with engineering work. A golem consists of two parts: the body, usually made of clay, and the anima: an extremely complicated self-perpetuating spell that powers the golem and gives it rudimentary intellect.

This can advance into:

->War Golem: L2, melee path.
Sometimes, when a golem breaks, its anima continues to function. Usually, it is given a new body since it's easier to manufacture those than to cast new anima. Soldiers often grow attached to the golems that help them, and it is not uncommon to see a clay golem anima 'upgraded' with a new body once the old one is destroyed. War golems have bodies designed for front line combat and made from sturdier materials, like stone. They carry specially made weapons, of which axes are the most popular. (Straight heavy fighting unit, high damage, low strikes.)

-Advances into:

-Juggernaut: L3, general purpose melee.
Juggernaut bodies are the heaviest military golems in existence. They are typically given to 'veteran' War Golem anima, after they attain experience and intelligence required to utilize several weapons effectively. Made of stone and armoured with large steel plates, Juggernauts are sent to slay monsters, break battle lines and take on elite units. The mere sight of those behemoths is sometimes enough to break the enemy's spirit. (Versatile heavy melee, with blade and impact weapons. Damage only slightly higher than War Golem, but more strikes.)

-Siege Golem: L3, assault unit.
Siege golems are a specialist form of the Juggernaut body. They are outfitted with even heavier armour and a single weapon: a magically enhanced great hammer. Their anima are either tailored to the specifics of siege warfare or chosen from among War Golems with extensive siege and urban combat experience. This allows them to bring their hammers to bear with devastating precision, demolishing castle gates and ramparts with a single stroke. (Siege unit, extreme damage impact weapon with marksman.)


->Anima Arcanum: L2, utility path.
In some rare cases, a golem anima will be able to work independently of a body. It is still a loyal, if somewhat dense, servant. With the energies originally used to power a body unleashed, those anima are powerful familiars to their creators. They can lend their power to fledgeling mages, spot enemies from vast distances and even fight using violent blasts of arcane power. (This unit will stop improving at level two, and have the leadership ability, allowing it to support L1 mages.)

->Wardbearer: L2, defensive path.
These are golems entrusted with a most important task: to keep their masters safe. Only the most loyal and intelligent anima are given a Wardbearer body. Made of magically tempered iron and engraved with hundreds of protective wards, these are the bodyguards of wizards and overseers of golem kin. They bear massive shields to better protect their masters, and are armed with a heavy spear. (These will have first strike and a 'ward' ability, improving all resistances of adjacent units. Especially useful with other golems.)

-Advances into:

-Wardbreaker: L3, mage killer.
Assassins that are willing and able to kill wizards are in high demand in the Republic. Sometimes, however, a regular hitman is not enough. For those occasions masters of the Towers employ Wardbreaker golems. Their protective sigils now turned to destruction, and their trademark shields and spears swapped for great throwing blades, those golems pose a dire threat to any adept of magic, no matter apprentice, archimage or lich. (Heavy ranged unit. Very high fire and cold resistances, resistant to arcane damage. High strikes, limited damage arcane melee and high damage, low strikes blade ranged with marksman.)

-Freeguard: L3, pinnacle defensive unit.
Anima are no simple spells. For all intents and purposes, they are alive: they can learn, grow and adapt, and the exceptionally well-crafted ones even develop personalities. After many years of duty, their intelligence rivals that of humans. However, true sentience and, thus, freedom is beyond their grasp. For most of the golem-kin, it is all well. They are free from the burdens of will or responsibility, they know their place and their purpose, and in their own limited fashion, they're happy. Freeguard are golems who have surpassed their limitations, and either awakened on their own or were granted full sentience and free will by their masters. They become retainers, advisors and personal bodyguards to their masters, or are allowed to go free on one condition, enforced by a dire geas: never to leave the Republic and never to betray the secrets of anima-casting. (Extremely high resistances and upgraded ward ability, three physical weapons with high damage and low strikes: first strike piercing, blunt slowing and blade counter.)

[mehmode]

Now, with this out of the way: is anyone interestend in helping with this project? I'm looking for a pixel artist [HIGH PRIORITY] and a coder (There won't be much feature-candy, just two or three new abilities, so nothing scary to code.).
I'm also looking into making a vendetta-themed campaign for this faction, if the project gets underway.

[styles1005]

Heh. I love the idea, and I'd offer my services as an artist, but for the fact that I really can't do art worth [bleep]. Working on it, but not that good yet. If you want help with descriptions, I can probably do that; however, I'll leave that up to you. Also, coding's not that hard; for example, most of the abilities you want have probably been done in some form or another, so it's really just a matter of copy/pasting it, and if anything confuses you, ask around (something I've been meaning to do.)

[mehmode]

How about collaboration, then? Say, I'll do the units and try to learn coding along the way and you'll help me code, drop some ideas and improve your artistic skill while on it?
I'd also be grateful for any pointers regarding unit descriptions and balance, since I'm really new to this.

[styles1005]

Did I really just commit myself to a project? This isn't good . . .

Ok, I'll try my best. Anything in particular you want help with ATM?

[mehmode]

Well, a rough graphical rendition of posted units would be great. I'll start a development thread so we can swap stuff over the forum and start working on the rest of the construct section.

Here: http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=30071

[Drakefriend]

Finally, wizards. Starting from apprentice, there will be three paths: Leader, Nuclear Device and Skirmisher, going as far as level four.

Do all wizard lines go to level 4 or only some?

[mehmode]

All three. The offensive line branches at level three and again at level four, making three possible level four units, for a total of five L4 mages availabale to the faction.