"Alchera" is the Aboriginal word that generally gets translated as "Dreamtime." Alchera is a nation with two peoples: the Alchera, inspired by Australian Aboriginal myth and tradition, and the Maohi, inspired by Maori (native New Zealanders).
The Alchera are attuned to the Dreamtime, giving them superior magic resistance, stealthy etherial sacreds, and powerful astral mages (with secondary air magic). The Maohi as physically powerful (above average Str and HP), and have a diverse range of magician-priests (nature, water, air), as well as limited sailing and amphibious capabilities.
I've tried to make this mod balanced, and it may even seem underpowered: Alchera has no archers, no cavalry and no heavy armor. In exchange, it has a great many advantages in terms of mobility, and a very powerful (but very expensive) stealth leader and assassin, the Dreamhunter.
As a strategy gamer, I enjoy figuring out how to make square pegs fit into round holes. I intend for there to be are a lot of interesting "square pegs" in this mod - units that have potential, but will require planning to use effectively. For example, Dreamhunters suffer from the first twinges of old age. Another example are the summonable Maeros - immortal but weak "wild men" who cause unrest.
The inspiration for this mod came as a result of a scholarly article I wrote about
Dom 3 for Gameology (shameless self-promotion:
The Kohen Gadol has Horns). Having spent a lot of thought on the issue of Jewish and Manichean myth and history, I turned my thoughts to Machaka.
I don't dislike Machaka, but it is the only "black" and/or "African" nation in the game, only exists in MA (until/unless EA Machaka is completed), and it isn't nearly as interesting in terms of mythology or history as, say, Gath. I wanted to make a mod that reflected unfamiliar parts of an indigenous people's mythology, and something contrary to the "heart of darkess" stereotype. I also wanted an excuse to research Aboriginal myth and tradition, and soon after decided to include Maori myth as well. This mod is the result.
Coming "soon" (meaning whenever if ever):
* national artifact(s) that are tapu or make the bearer tapu ("tapu" is the origin of "taboo," and means sacred
and therefore forbidden)
* MA Alchera, in which the two peoples have mostly merged and Maohi culture has risen to predominance
* LA Alchera, where heroes of old have returned and the Dreamtime is becoming corrupted by the influence of the Void (LA R'lyeh)
Feedback very much appreciated.
Update: v2.0
* tons of balance changes - I don't evern remember half of them any more
* some fixes to graphics coming soon
* listing of changes coming soon
Update: v.1.672
* Mac (& Linux?) incompatability fixed
Update: v1.671 - rebalancing
* starting troops improved
* resource costs tweaked down
* Dreamhunter cost reduced to 350, no longer starts old (reaches old age after 1 year)
Update: v1.67
* fixed broken summon spells
* reversed changes to Compell Maero in 1.66
Update: v1.66
* fixed all the stuff I broke renumbering the mod for 1.65
* balance tweaks:
* Compell Maero now summons only one (was variable by skill), but only costs 2 gems (was 3) and Maeros now have 14 HP (was 12)
* Summon Yarama Ya-who cost increased to 15 pearls (was 10)
* Maohi Diver now has mapmove 1 (was 2 - makes them a little less land-friendly) and MR 10 (Maohi norm)
* Possum Warrior now has MR 14 (was 13) to accurately reflect "+2 bonus" from enchanted Possum-skin Cloak (which doesn't actually give +2 MR, but all units in the mod with this armor have +2 MR relative to a comparable unit without
Update: v1.65
* the mod is now CBM compatible and much less likely to conflict with other mods (see alchera.dm for details)
* unit costs decreased slightly for Maohi Warrior, Javilineer and Diver, greatly for Dreamwalker
* starting army now contains Maohi Warriors in place of Possum Warriors
* Added 1 water gem start site, bringing EA Alchera to the standard 6 gems
* comments added to alchera.dm, including #s used and thank-yous
Update: v1.6
* Taniwha and Tangaroa's Brood spell (summons Taniwha added)
* new art for Tangaroa Tohunga in shark form (no longer generic shark)
* Maui (Trickster Hero) now only autocasts Battle Fortune - meaning he could "miss" himself. Flavor text updated to reflect this
* Tangaroa Tohunga missing weapon bug fixed, and a few other small changes
* "SEMI-FINAL" update: only bugfixes and balancing will be done until I complete MA Alchera
* sprite sheet NOT updated - I'll get to it, sometime
Update: v.1.55
* Linux incompatibility fixed
* national hero Maui now has "grandfather's jawbone" and fire magic
* UPDATED SPRITES! for Maui, Maohi Diver and Dreamtime Warrior (minor changes in each case, but I'd been putting this off)
Update: v1.51
* Fixed "known problems" from 1.5
* various minor changes, including:
1. Raindow Serpent is 10%, not 20% crazy
2. hero Maui autocasts Personal Luck and Battle Fortune at the start of combat (upgraded from P-Luck and Luck)
* I'll change Maui to have luck as a "permanent" w/ next update: for now, this was the easy way (there's no "#lucky" command)
* I'm considering changing the version #s to better conform w/ convention (e.g., ver. 1.0 would become a goal, when all intended features are added and bugs fixed) if I do this, I'll change all of the #s here for consistency's sake
Major Update: v1.5
* National Pretenders (2) and heroes (2) added! (w/ art and everything)
* various minor tweaks and bugfixes
* Known problems:
1. Rainbow Serpent should be 20% insane, and hero Alinda should be 10% insane, but aren't (command used: "#insane 20")
2. Alinda should be a heretic: "spreadom: -1" didn't work, changed to "#heretic" but haven't had time to test
3. Maui and Alinda (the new heroes) aren't named correctly (they get random names). This is an easy fix, but I've already spent much too long working on Alchera today
* Taniwha really are coming, I promise.
5/31: Added "allinone.jpg" image of all sprites
Update: v1.3
* Compell Maeros fixed (calls 1+, not 11+)
* Updated art for Maohi Warrior (with Patu)
* Updated text & art for Tohungas (weapons are now Tiki Wanangas - "Godsticks" in varying shades as well as shapes)
* Maohi Warrior Def +1
* Dreamwalker and Dreamtime Warrior costs reduced (to 25 & 40 gold, respectively)
* Great Dreamer chance of extra astral levels increased to 20% each (was 15%)
* Rainbow Serpent greatly changed (an experiment - feedback, please!): now "Rainbow" in the general sense, with lvl 5 Astral, lvl 3 in all other magic paths (but with almost no research ability) and 160hp (up from 80), but is now lvl 9 to summon (was 8), costs 110 pears (was 90), doesn't autocast in combat (used to autocast Astral Tempest and Unraveling) AND is now 20% crazy (used to be 10%)
Update: v1.2
* Call Mimis now actually calls Mimis
* Stealth bonuses increased: Dreamwalker +10, Dreamtime Warrior +20, Dreamhunter +30 (Dreamhunter max age increased, still starts old)
* Wakataua master now an OK commander (vastly improved Alchera's sailing ability), increased his cost to 50 and resource cost to 24
* cost mods: Maohi Warrior costs 11 (formerly 10), Maohi Javilineer costs 13 (formerly 10), Maohi Diver costs 14 (formerly 15)
* Compell Maero (spell) now only costs 1 Nature and 1 Holy, and gives extra Maeros for high skill
* Maeros now regenerate 6hp/turn (out of 12 hp, still unarmored)
* (Tohunga and Maori Warrior art still not yet fixed)
* (Taniwha not yet added)
* (Maori Warrior subject to further change without notice)
Update: v1.1
* encumbrance values fixed
* Tangaroas now sacred (require temple to recruit)
* Yowie and Rainbow Serpent now summon as commanders
* Dreamhunter now has Holy 1
* Maohi Warrior now has Ambidexterity 3 and a Patu (Maori club) as a second weapon - art not yet fixed
* Tohunga weapons are now "Godstick Patus" and not "Tohunga Spears" - art and flavor text not yet fixed
* fixed "Wrath of Tawhiri" fatal error (whoops!)