Mod: The Ruinous Powers

[zepath]

Since national summons are still beyond our grasp and my free time for working on mods is evaporating I wanted to push out the pretender gods I plan to base a nation mod around. The nation is to be a combination of the Chaos armies from Warhammer Fantasy Battles... and would rely heavily on national summons of demons, of course. Instead, here are the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos in pretender god form. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif Khorne, the Lord of Destruction, /threads/images/Graemlins/icon46.gif Tzeentch, the Bringer of Change, /threads/images/Graemlins/Bug.gif Nurgle, the Lord of Decay, and /threads/images/Graemlins/Lips.gif Slaanesh, the Lord of Pleasure are available as pretenders for a variety of nations in all three eras, but certainly not all nations. I had to create a new monster for each instance of these pretenders in each nation so the mod sucks up quite a few more monster numbers than I should like (2620-2653), but with the way #restrictedgod behaves there was no other choice. The pretenders themselves are rather beefy and cost at least 160 design points. They are probably still a bit too powerful for their cost, but since we're talking about the distilled forces of evil and sorrow here I don't really mind. The art and descriptions for the pretenders are based on descriptions of the Chaos gods I found in the Warhammer 40,000 "Fluff Bible". Check 'em out!

Edit: sprite call problem fixed and rolled into a new .zip file.

[Shovah32]

When i go to select pretender form for various nations (those who i assume can have the pretenders) i get various error messages depending on nation (problem with nurgles .tga and something about khorne with abysia)

[zepath]

Post deleted by zepath

[Shovah32]

When i try to download that it opens the .txt file in the webpage, should i save it into a file i make myself with a .dm extension or what?

[zepath]

Made a new .zip with the corrected .dm file. Give it a shot now.

[Shovah32]

Very nice although i believe the changer of ways (or whatever your name for him was) is a little lacking on the offensive side vrs any troops with decent morale.

[zepath]

I always thought of Tzeentch as more of a manipulator and a string-puller than having any real force in the physical world. He works through agents. It's quite cheap to take that pretender (the "Bringer of Change") and have him start the game awake and with Astral-10 (if you so wish). He's also got a fat research bonus. My interpretation may be off, of course, as I've never been a serious player of Chaos in the Warhammer games and usually just see it across the table and hope to destroy it. I feel like I could do a lot more with the Slaanesh pretender -- considered giving him/her/it the Seduction ability, but while fitting it would be odd on a pretender.

[Shovah32]

The bringer of change could do with the seduction ability, to give him it you could let him have a weaker, stealthy form he could change into (leaving his material body behidn and traveling through fate itself), he is known to manipulate people, kings and even gods to his will so seducing a commander (tempting him with gifts of power) shouldnt be too hard (and if the fight happens then S10 enslave mind is fun http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif)

[zepath]

Miraculous thinking. I will check that out. Now, to come up with a suitable alternate form...

[Shovah32]

Im not sure about looks but i was thinking a large, ethereal entity only half existant in the realm of man. Give it ethereal, some fear, high movement and flying, seduction, consume soul attack and either no slots or 1 misc slot. Also give him a patrol bonus due to his all-seeingness http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[TomD]

It would have to be immortal in the weak form. Not only is it fitting (you're not killing it, just sending it's spirit back to it's body) but necessary. I wouldn't risk my pretender being discovered by a patrol.

[Shovah32]

Good catch there tom, so an immortal, very low health+prot, ethereal, all-seeing, seducing, possibly assasinating, spirit.

[zepath]

Well, as a pretender you're never *really* killing it for good as priests can always get together and have a god-summoning workshop on a long weekend or whatever it is they do. If the alternate form were immortal it would border on being beyond reasonably powerful within its own dominion since packing flight, etherealness, fear, an attack that causes soul death, and Astral-10 is already beefy enough. All it has to do is cast twist fate, fly to the target, and hit it with consume soul. Bam, victory. Should that fail it can still survive attacks against non-magic armed opponents and resist spells like the god that it is. So, immortality too!? Or am I totally wrong? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Shovah32]

You are. Give it just 1 health or so, sure he will be a great assasin but the fact that any decent PD or patrolling force will kill him as soon as he is caught should balance it.