Werewolves?

[Xandria]

It just crossed my mind after reading the Transformers idea... who needs copyrighted content and giant robots anyway?

What about shapeshifters?
A right-click menu on the unit would allow it to change shape to something different - a simple example may be the woodsman with an axe and bow who becomes a bear-beast who does impact damage.
The change might use up all your movement points as a compensation, for example.

An alignment change might also occur: the siad woodsman might be neutral, while the bear is chaotic.

Some scenarios might feature such things as being unable to enter a city/castle in beast form, or using a weak yet agile hawk form to cross a river of lava, etc.

[longhair]

I'd be worried about how this would balance out with other factions in a multiplayer setting. On the other hand, it sounds like a great idea for campaigns.

[Iris]

I'd be worried about how this would balance out with other factions in a multiplayer setting. On the other hand, it sounds like a great idea for campaigns.

Um... I'd have to see it in action.

Well, CABD with WML, that's for sure.

note: stuff authors are free to use crazy ideas like this for MP games as long as they don't start to beg us to put it in mainline.

[Xandria]

It was meant for campaigns... there are far better mainline candidates in the extended and imperial eras

[Bob_The_Mighty]

I had this same idea! I think it would work. I was going to give the starting unit a special 2-2 melee attack, called something like 'essense drain' or perhaps something better. If you killed something with this weapon the unit type got added to the list of possible shapes you could shift into.

The tricky part would be storing all the stats for your character's different manifestations. You wouldn't want people abusing it to continually shape-shift their way out of bad situations, so perhaps it could drain some hp to change.

[thespaceinvader]

Been done, IIRC. Search on the Shifters faction.

[JW]

Been done, IIRC. Search on the Shifters faction.

Actually....the idea behind the Shifters (now the Therians) was that they would "shift" from human to animal in the right situations (read: on specific different terrains or when fighting). I never figured out the WML to be able to do what I wanted, never got the sprites to make the WML useful anyway, and so am left to work with a kind of bastardized faction based off of grandiose ideas that have never come to fruition.

It's a damn shame too. I have begun to play around with the era again lately, but the WML and sprites still aren't in reach.

A link to the EOM thread (which should have a link to the "Shifters" thread) is in my signature for more background. Also, coincidentally, the EoM has a faction called the Warg, which originally were called Werewolves. I'm actually feeling quite fond of both the old names and have been toying with changing them back.

[Oreb]

I like the idea of essence drain. But doing a right click change is deadly, a level one changling, forming into a level 3 Royal Guard is the problems for balancing. But the unit could simply have a level limit, only able to change into something it's own level.

[Xandria]

I would prefer if changlings had set forms - simply, a level 2 werebear can shift into a level 2 bear-thing, a level 3 werebear into a nastier bear thing.

Of the heroes in a were campaign, some could have flying and some swimming forms to navigate difficult terrain and solve puzzle-like maps.