New "wild elf" faction

[Thunderblade]

I gave them high moves as you said they would be lithe, high xp requirements because it seemed to fit, high damage levels because it seemed to fit, low hp because I thought they would dislike armor and, generally, more number of attacks than normal as I though it fit.

You got the idea PERFECTLY! Your stats are very similar to some thoughts I had on these units - high number of attacks, high damage, high movement rating, low HP and armor...

I shall be posting something about their history and culture soon, so that we may work on the other cultures!

Thanks!

[Thunderblade]

Just for kicks, I thought I'd give the Raindancer a go. This is my first sprite, so I'm afraid it's nothing terribly special. It could probably also be used as the Wanderer (sans glowy stuff around the left hand, of course).

Thoughts/criticism? Or should this get moved over to Art Development?

Quensul, your art is good! But, when I saw it, it made me remind of some ideas I had for the Fury and Wanderer trees. The Raindancers are their noble caste, distant and different from the "common" Sidhe (reasons for this on the coming post about history and culture). Something that would be more related to them is the image I'm using as avatar - my thunderblade "try".
Anyway, it's still a good image! thanks!

[Thunderblade]

Well, this is the post detailing Sidhe history and culture. I´ve written it based on Wesnothian history, available in the form of a simple chronology at http://www.wesnoth.org/wiki/WesnothHistory. As you will notice, being the Sidhe a reclusive people, their inclusion in the storyline will not affect the course of events as detailed in that wiki (perhaps there are campaigns that deal with these events - in this case, I´ll need to rewrite part of the text that goes here).

So, to the main subject...

The Exhile - Birth of the Sidhe

Tales about the founding of Wesnoth speak of the Pact made between Prince Haldric and Four Elvish Lords: Dionli, Logalmier, Aryad, and El'Isomithir. Sages agree that this alliance was crucial to the new kingdom, placing the acceptance of Wesnoth by the elvish kingdoms as a mark in their history. For seven years these elves fought by the rising nation´s side, protecting it from the incoming orc invasions, till Haldric (now King Haldric the First) dishonors the alliance once made.
Little is known, however, of the Fifth Lord, and of his people - the reclusive, unpredictable and fierce Sidhe. His name was Vanimáro and, as would be expected from the first and only representant to this brave race of elves, his will could not be crushed. Some say that his eyes were like gleaming stars, his voice proud as thunder, and his hair as white as the first snow flakes of winter. Others would tell that he would ride to battle laughing and singing, followed in that by his brave companions, whose courage was only roused by the sight of enemy hordes. Many ballads are still sung, amongst the remaining Sidhe, about his talent in manning his legendary great sword, first and greatest of the silvery Thunderblades. However, in human lands, Vanimáro´s name is all but remembered, as he was the only of the elven kings who refused to accept the humans in the lands of Wesnoth.
Ancient writings about that age tell of Vanimáro´s distrust towards Haldric and his people, and the way he was disgusted by the new made pact. He saw envy and treason in the new kings eyes, and, as he considered him not to be a worthy ally, retreated to the reclusive Stormkeep to watch over his people, saying that the Sidhe could perfectly defend their lands.
As a result of this atittude, wich was considered of utmost arrogance by the other elvish kingdoms, the Sidhe started to be seen as a primitive race of elves. Suspicious of Vanimáro, Dionli, Logalmier, Aryad, and El'Isomithir forged a secret pact of mutual protection, excluding from it´s lines any mention to the peaks where stood Stormkeep and the forests surrounding it, lair of their former allies.
When war came, though, the Sidhe were well prepared for it. They defended their woods with almost no losses, fighting with their almost supernatural skill with blades. The orcs would fear the forests surrounding Mount Stormkeep, mistaking the frightening sight of Sidhe Wardancers with ghosts. The songs and hymns these elves sung in battle helped building this myth, and soon the enemy had to retreat.
However, the Sidhe didnt stop to feast on the battles won - as they looked to their elven brothers and realized that the humans had broken the alliance, a council was called. Although discouraged by the elder Stormlords, Vanimáro stated that he would ride to battle. Some point that Vanimáro was eager to prove himself a better ruler than the other lords, and riding to battle in this case was a sure way to prove that. The Sidhe elders who atended to that council meeting, however, say that this was a true sign of Sidhe nobility.
As Orcs were almost taking the Wesmere forest, the Sidhe enter the field. Following their wild music, endless hostes of wild elves came dancing and singing in loud and proud voices. Leading that glorious army was Vanimáro, Thunderblade in hand, running in the first ranks with his trusted Whirlwinds. With night came a terrible storm, and lightning fell from the sky - although the orcs would have clear advantage fighting at night, the rain raised the Sidhe spirits, and they fought with an even greater vigor. At midnight, Vanimáro´s troops came to a choking point - ahead was the great troll hero known as Udulmakhur, The Headcrusher, followed by his vilest servants. The Sidhe lord had no doubt of what to do when he saw such a beast, and rushed to battle. So, with the full moon so praised by his kin high in the sky, Vanimáro found his death after a fierce battle, taking his enemy´s life with his last breath. His last words are engraved in the Chamber of Elders, so that his wisdom may guid the new Sidhe warriors:

"Let the raindrops that fall from the sky wash away your fears
Let the fierce wind that sings through the trees guide your steps
Let your blade cut as lightning cuts the skies
Become one with the storm
And show your enemies nature´s fury"

Singing these words as a mantra, the remaining Sidhe fought till dawn, when there were no more Orcs in Wesmere. Then, they took the shards of Vanimáro´s broken Thunderblade, gathered their people and went back to their woods, only to leave them abandoned in a long and harsh exhile.
After many years wandering in search of a better place to live, the Sidhe found a set of high peaks lying in the middle of woods far away from Wesnoth. There they stablished a new Stormkeep, where willing Sidhe youths would be trained to become warriors as brave as their king, Vanimáro. This new castle soon became some sort of monastery, recruiting able elves to study the ancient and brutal forms of natural magic the wild shamans practiced in the old days. Channeling the forces of thunder and lightning, these halls would give birth to the Sidhe noble caste of warriors and wizards: the Thunderblades and the Stormlords. The second of them would become their ruling council, the sages that would give light and wisdom to their peoples judgements based in the memory of the old king. The first would be their "effective" nobility, every one of them carrying a blade imbued with the original Thunderblade´s magic - made of the finest elvish silver and containing, in the blade, a shard of Vanimáro´s sword. From their proximity to the storm gods and their forgotten lore, these nobles would grow silver hair, a feature that would distinguish them from the common Sidhe.
And there they dwelt till these days, away from the eyes of humans and elves alike, singing, dancing, and feeding legends about the haunted woods at the basis of Mount. Stormkeep.




***
As you may see, this is a try at Sidhe history. Just one of the main episodes, explaining their exhile and the origins of their "nobility". Hope you like it!
Soon I shall post more notes on culture and all

(P.S.: please forgive any mistakes... as I´m not a native speaker, I had some trouble writing this text)

[Thunderblade]

Well, this is my first try at a Sidhe Raindancer... As stated in one of the first posts, their nobility is different from common Sidhe, wearing long gray robes

As you shall surely notice, it´s just a (poor) edit of the silver mage (did it using MSPaint, at work... hehehe)

When I get home I shall edit it more, and see if I can get to anything better than this

[Tomsik]

As you shall surely notice, it´s just a (poor) edit of the silver mage

If you would dont say this i would dont know.

[Tux2B]

Well, it's better than anything I could make with Paint Shop Pro or Gimp!

[Neoriceisgood]

As you shall surely notice, it´s just a (poor) edit of the silver mage

Why are the only units I really like always based upon art originaly made by me! You do not realise how agonising this is!

[turin]

I thought fmunoz made the current silver mage.

[appleide]

Well, this is my first try at a Sidhe Raindancer... As stated in one of the first posts, their nobility is different from common Sidhe, wearing long gray robes

As you shall surely notice, it´s just a (poor) edit of the silver mage (did it using MSPaint, at work... hehehe)

When I get home I shall edit it more, and see if I can get to anything better than this

This image looks so good! it might even be better than the silver mage, IMHO.

As for your story, please seperate it into more paragraphs... I am having trouble reading it.

[Thunderblade]

Hi, friends!

Thanks for your comments!

I've just "finished" the graphics for one of the Raindancer lines - the Raindancer -> Warrior-Magus -> Thunderblade

Some things shall become apparent when you look at these graphics:
- the drawing order was TBlade -> RDancer - WM : the WM is better than the other ones, IMHO
- the WM is a complex mix of thief, rogue, marksman and that loyalist's pink guy (the one with a huge sword)... hope you like it! Also, there's what I intended to be some "magic aura" on his right hand... is it ok?

Well, here they are:

[scott]

low hp because I thought they would dislike armor

You can still give them high HP and reduce their resistances. Between HP, resistances, and defense, the natural tendency is to raise one and make one suffer. However this can sometimes be disastrous, as was the case with the drakes. Their low defense was compensated by high HP, but they were hit so much they just didn't survive very long. Better you give the elves normal elf HP and reduce their resistance just a little bit. If they start out overpowered you can reduce it a bit more.

[Casual User]

Good afternoon!

1. Nice images! If you don't mind a comment from a non-artist, the lvl 2's lower half looks a little blurry. Otherwise, they're great.

2. For scott : they don't have catastrophically low hp's, the warrior has only 2 less hps than the standard fighter, they're just kinda low. I prefer less hp, as it requires less coding . We'll see in playtesting.

3. I've made the fury and wanderer lines. Here's the stats I used, normal woodland movement again (for now) :

fury : 30hp, 7 moves, 50xp, sword 4-4 blade berserk short
wildblade : 42hp, 7 moves, 120xp, sword 5-5 blade berserk short
whirlwind : 52hp, 7 moves, 100xp(AMLA), skirmisher, sword 6-6 blade berserk short

wanderer : 26hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 42xp, spear 4-3 pierce short, spear 6-2 pierce long
windrunner : 36hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 100xp(AMLA), spear 6-3 pierce short, spear 9-2 pierce long
*windtracker : 48hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 100xp(AMLA), spear 9-3 pierce short, spear 13-2 pierce long

You'll notice I've made a lvl 3 wanderer. He's out of the loop for now, but I would very seriously propose that he be added. I think they will really need this guy. The wanderer adds some piercing attacks while all others have bladed and is also easily the most flexible of all of them.

You'll also notice that I've also kept the general feel. The fury line will need, I can tell from now, more balancing than any other. Discussions about balancing the dwarf berserker have been on since he was added and never really stopped, so brace yourself.

4. Two questions :

1-What would the raindancer lines and ancestor spirit line be like ? I'd like to make them, but I can't really picture them, and so can't etch down any stats for them. Could you give me some background, what type of weapons they use, their general usages on the battlefield, etc...

2-Where are we going with these guys? I'd like to start the more heavy scripting, but I need to know if it'll be a custom campaign, a MP era or what.

P.S. I'm going to propose, once these guys are done and that I make the night elves (the ones I sketched above), an MP era named 'Elf Wars' in which we would have nothing but Elf sides. Wood elves(regular Wesnoth elves), High elves(were made a little earlier), Wild Elves, Dark Elves, Night Elves, and so forth. Thought I might mention it here first.

[Neoriceisgood]

I thought fmunoz made the current silver mage.

Yes.

[Thunderblade]

Hi, Casual! How are you doing?

1. Nice images! If you don't mind a comment from a non-artist, the lvl 2's lower half looks a little blurry. Otherwise, they're great.

I've followed your advice and indeed it seemed blurry. I worked both the Thunderblade and the Warrior-Magus a bit, increasing the "auras" around the Magus' right hand and the TBlade's sword. See if you like it (I've also tried some lighting/shading on the TB, as he was too "plain")

3. I've made the fury and wanderer lines. Here's the stats I used, normal woodland movement again (for now) :

fury : 30hp, 7 moves, 50xp, sword 4-4 blade berserk short
wildblade : 42hp, 7 moves, 120xp, sword 5-5 blade berserk short
whirlwind : 52hp, 7 moves, 100xp(AMLA), skirmisher, sword 6-6 blade berserk short

wanderer : 26hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 42xp, spear 4-3 pierce short, spear 6-2 pierce long
windrunner : 36hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 100xp(AMLA), spear 6-3 pierce short, spear 9-2 pierce long
*windtracker : 48hp, 8 moves, skirmisher, 100xp(AMLA), spear 9-3 pierce short, spear 13-2 pierce long

You'll notice I've made a lvl 3 wanderer. He's out of the loop for now, but I would very seriously propose that he be added. I think they will really need this guy. The wanderer adds some piercing attacks while all others have bladed and is also easily the most flexible of all of them.

You'll also notice that I've also kept the general feel. The fury line will need, I can tell from now, more balancing than any other. Discussions about balancing the dwarf berserker have been on since he was added and never really stopped, so brace yourself.

You really got the idea! Understood your changes on the wanderer tree, and they have my approval - what if it follows like this: wanderer -> tracker -> windrunner ?

Your Fury/Wildblade/Whirlwind is just perfect. I shall start working on the graphics for this tree as soon as I'm finished with the TB tree (which I consider 80% done)... They shall be very different, in appearance, from the Sidhe Nobility (I imagine the whirlwind as a strong tatooed elf, using two katars).

1-What would the raindancer lines and ancestor spirit line be like ? I'd like to make them, but I can't really picture them, and so can't etch down any stats for them. Could you give me some background, what type of weapons they use, their general usages on the battlefield, etc...

Raindancers

The Raindancer is some sort of alternative starting magic user. He would have a magical ranged attack, but also a medium melee attack. I know every wizard in the game uses a staff or so for defense, but this guy could use a blade or even a melee magical attack. When leveling up, it would have 2 options: the more melee oriented Warrior-Magus (that would increase his melee abilities much more than his ranged ones) or the "standard" casting tree, that would end in the Stormlord (if he follows this tree his magical ranged attack will increase lots, while melee stays the same - yes, just the same, because at 1st level he would have a not-so-bad melee attack). As they are "nobility", their apparition in the game is somehow rare... This would be an expensive unit, given it's versatility.

Considering their culture, Raindancers are young Sidhe who are chosen by their elders to go through the harsh training provided at Stormkeep (their ancestral fortress, located high atop the peaks surrounded by their woods). In this keep they shall study the fundaments of old storm wizardry, also learning about the ways of the Sidhe, their deeds and heroes - it's a mix of monastery, arcane school and military academy. At a given age, these students may choose two paths: leaving the school in order to learn new fighting skills, only coming back in a remote future to claim one of the shards of the Thunderblade, or remain as wizards, studying the arcane arts. The kind of magic they practice is so wild and untamed that it marks their body, giving them silver hair and, in some cases, blue glowing eyes.


Spirits

The spirit would also be a high cost unit, based around high resistances to normal damage and vulnerability to magic (specially fire and holy - these guys are based around cold). It would have some good melee attacks (after all, it's the ghost of a Sidhe hero), but also a single ranged attack (starting at the Ancestor level) named Requiem. The idea is that at first level this ghost is a mere remembrance of a fallen hero, being very translucid and emiting no sound; at second level, it's more "material", able to sing songs of terror to his enemies (here comes the Requiem and Regeneration); at third it becomes almost corporeal (with high melee damage) and closer to this world, singing louder (higher ranged damage too)... is it ok?

In the Sidhe tales, some of the heroes that fell on Wesmere could be seen watching their people moving through the woods, in the times of the great exile. Legends say that these ghosts would watch and guide their sons in times of need, protecting their woods from enemies. They could also appear at crucial moments of a battle, filling the air with ghastly voices and making their foes flee in terror. Close as they are to their ancestors, the Sidhe keep several runestones in the forests they chose to live, where their names and deeds are written. These places are considered sacred and haunted, being centers of individual devotion (every Sidhe tries to remember the deeds of his ancestors by fighting with the same courage they've fought, long ago).

Hope these short texts fill the gap... =)

2-Where are we going with these guys? I'd like to start the more heavy scripting, but I need to know if it'll be a custom campaign, a MP era or what.
P.S. I'm going to propose, once these guys are done and that I make the night elves (the ones I sketched above), an MP era named 'Elf Wars' in which we would have nothing but Elf sides. Wood elves(regular Wesnoth elves), High elves(were made a little earlier), Wild Elves, Dark Elves, Night Elves, and so forth. Thought I might mention it here first.

[/quote]

In a first moment, they would be just for MP. This would give players a new option for playing against each other on the net or against the AI. Would also be an interesting testing ground, where we could see the Sidhe's playability, and change what seems unfit. After it has been tested and seems to work well enough, I have a starting campaign in mind, related to the episodes I mentioned on the post about their history (the battle of wesmere and the exile). Your idea of an "Elf Wars" MP has inspired me to write another campaign, with events taking place in the current era of Wenothian history (just after the Aragwaithi arrive to Wesnoth), but this is planed for the long run. For now, just MP (your Elven Wars idea seems very interesting. It would be nice to see it implemented)

Hope this answers most of your questions! Once more, thanks for your help!

[turin]

They look good; however, it is really unclear that they are in the same line. They look like two completely different units, not one being the advancement of the other.