New Mod: Gollarn

[quantum_mechani]

Gollarn is a desolate land, but with an extensive network of underground waterways, caverns and passages inhabited by pale, amphibious humanoids. Gollarn are stealthy and have keen reflexes, but are in general frail and do not value bravery. They have hunted and domesticated many of the strange creatures of the deepest watery caverns. While Gollarn tend to be isolated, many have banded into small underground settlements that constantly raid each other. The leader of each settlement is the Keeper of Secrets - the only
Gollarn with the sacred right to make and read maps of the caverns. Ancient hermits known as Watchers of the Depths are philosophers and powerful mages of Earth and Sorcery. Craftsmen of buildings and pottery, known as Clayformers, have limited skill in Water and Earth.

Race: Amphibious, stealthy
Military: Stealthy Raiders, Slingers, Tamed Creatures of the Lower Caverns
Magic: Earth, Sorcery, Water
Priests: Average

The basic Gollarn would have stats something like this:

HP: 7
ST: 7
MR: 10
ATT: 14
DEF: 12
MOR: 8
PREC: 12
Stealthy +0
Amphibious

With, of course elite troops having better stats and mages worse. Their armours and weapons would be mostly fashioned from the bones of the strange beasts living in the deep subterranean seas. The troops:

Gollarn Raider
G. cost: 10
R. cost: 6
Wielding bone scythes and and equipped with natural stealth, these conscripts make up the bulk of the Gollarn military.

Gollarn Guard
G. cost: 10
R. cost: 20
Tasked with the stationary duty of guarding important leaders and the garrisoning the underground forts, the Gollarn Guard give up their stealth and quick movement in favor of heavy bone armours.

Gollarn Slinger
G. cost: 8
R. cost: 2
Most Gollarn are already skilled in using hunting slings, so it is a simple matter to recruit them to provide ranged support to other Gollarn forces.

Trapper
G. cost: 25
R. cost: 1
A common creature in underground lakes and streams, the trapper resembles a mass of decaying vegetation. While appearing plant-like, the trapper is actually somewhat mobile. Domesticated trappers have been used for hunting by Gollarn for generations, and recently they have been used limitedly in warfare as well.
Notes: It has stealth, the tangle ability (like the vine shield item) as well as a tentacle attack. Stats are weak, and has only 5 battle field, 1 overland movement.

Depth Diver
G. cost: 120
R. cost: 6
Wielding enchanted bone scythes, depth divers venture into to the legendary depths below the lowest Gollarn settlements to hunt. While they wear no armour (it would encumber their swimming too much), depth divers have developed magical defenses and resistances to the wide variety of magic used by creatures of the depths.
Notes: Sacred, very good stats, 16 magic resistance, and 100% resistance to shock, cold, poison and heat, chill and heat aura.

Giant Bat Rider
G. cost: 40
R.. cost: 8
A few Gollarn have harnessed the power of the rare giant bats living in the caverns, and even learned to ride upon them. While they can not be used underwater, and many caverns are too small for bats to maneuver with riders, they are nonetheless of great worth where they can be employed.
Notes: Flying, same stats as Gollarn raiders, extra bite attack.

Burrower
G. cost: 100
R. cost: 40
Normally used for burrowing new caverns, these giant worms have been armored with bone plates
for war. They are particularly useful for tearing down fort walls.
Notes: 50 HP, 20 protection, high strength but low defense, bite attack, 25 siege bonus.

Commanders:

Raider Commander
G. cost: 45
R. cost: 7
The raider commander is tasked with the difficult problem of coordinating solitary Gollarn hunters to strike to together at strategic locations. He is also somewhat better trained and equipped than an average raider.
Notes: 25 leadership, bone scythe and sling attack.

Keeper of Secrets
G. cost: 190
R. cost: 6
Keepers of Secrets have many duties from high priest and keeping the sacred maps to leading troops. They also care take the crypt tunnels, which has given then some knowledge of death magic. They wield a ceremonial enchanted bone dagger.
Notes: sacred, 50 leadership, 1 death magic, 3 priest levels.

Clayformers
G. cost: 75
R. cost: 1
Originally simple potters, some discovered that clay from the depths brought back by the depth divers had strong magical properties. While items made from clay were too frail to be used as weapons or armour, they were greatly valued for enhancing magic. Now they control a powerful guild that controls the supply of the valuable objects.
Notes: 1 water, 1 earth magic

Spirit Walker
G. cost: 110
R. cost: 1
Spirit walkers are masters of special form of magic known only to the Gollarn. They are able to leave their bodies and walk in spirit form, which offers great mental powers. Before the rise of Keepers of Secrets, they were the leaders of the Gollarn in spiritual matters, and even now they keep some of that authority.
Notes: Sacred, 2 priest levels, can shape change to spirit form, which is much like a phantasmal Gollarn with an enslave mind attack.

Master Hunter
G. cost: 80
R. cost: 12
Acknowledged as masters of stealth, they find targets for raiders, and are known to weaken them ahead of time be eliminating their leadership. They are given powerful enchanted bone knives similar to the ceremonial ones used by the Keepers of Secrets.
Notes: good stats, assassin ability, knives are considered magic and penetrate armour, stealth +30.

Watchers of the Depths
G. cost: 320
R. cost: 1
Ancient Gollarn hermits that watch the bottomless pools of the earth, their wandering minds have pursued many philosophies and ideas, not to mention paths of magic. While normally unconcerned with the outside world, they are known to intervene in some matters, for their own, unknown cause.
Notes: 2 earth magic, 4 random sorcery Paths (2 linked, 2 non-linked).

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I can probably handle coding the mod myself (though anyone is welcome to help ), but I really suck at graphics. If anyone could help with the images I would be grateful. And I would welcome any other comments on the mod's idea/balance/grammatical imperfection.

Thanks.

[Endoperez]

I like the general feel of this mod, but can't offer much in the way of balance. SP-only experience is not enough, and when I play I just play. However, Watchers of the Depths seem very powerful. Remember, Atlantian Sea(or Deep?) Kings have Water 3, linked true random 2 and cost about the same as your Watchers of the Depths. Watchers have one more path of magic, and possibility of getting 3 or even 4 in any sorcery path. Pangaean Pani get E3N2?, and so have similar number of magics. However, you can easily get Watcher with E3 (Earth boots), N2 and ? + ? in sorcery...
You can also consider Mystics, who ahve S2 and ??? in elements. Your mages have E2 and ?2 ? ? in sorcery, and can be considered 140 gp more expensive Mystic that is guaranteed to get 2 in at least one path. The linked random also gives much better possibility of getting 3 in any sorcery magic.


I think the randoms are very powerful, but if you can strike balance between the cost and those paths, I would very much like to play with the Gollarn. That kind of diVersion is very different, because Mystics only have elemental magics... I presume they will be only available from the capitol. Maybe they should have high resource costs, or maybe they should be heroes.


And sorry, I can't do graphics any more than you! However, I would be interested to know what Gollarn look like. I think they are very small and slender, but are they dark or pale? Do they have hair? Are they clearly humanoids or closer in look to some animals?

[quantum_mechani]

Endoperez said:
I like the general feel of this mod, but can't offer much in the way of balance. SP-only experience is not enough, and when I play I just play. However, Watchers of the Depths seem very powerful. Remember, Atlantian Sea(or Deep?) Kings have Water 3, linked true random 2 and cost about the same as your Watchers of the Depths. Watchers have one more path of magic, and possibility of getting 3 or even 4 in any sorcery path. Pangaean Pani get E3N2?, and so have similar number of magics. However, you can easily get Watcher with E3 (Earth boots), N2 and ? + ? in sorcery...
You can also consider Mystics, who ahve S2 and ??? in elements. Your mages have E2 and ?2 ? ? in sorcery, and can be considered 140 gp more expensive Mystic that is guaranteed to get 2 in at least one path. The linked random also gives much better possibility of getting 3 in any sorcery magic.


I think the randoms are very powerful, but if you can strike balance between the cost and those paths, I would very much like to play with the Gollarn. That kind of diVersion is very different, because Mystics only have elemental magics... I presume they will be only available from the capitol. Maybe they should have high resource costs, or maybe they should be heroes.


And sorry, I can't do graphics any more than you! However, I would be interested to know what Gollarn look like. I think they are very small and slender, but are they dark or pale? Do they have hair? Are they clearly humanoids or closer in look to some animals?

The gold costs would probably be tweaked quite a bit if I got the mod to the stage to try. The Watcher of the Depth is probably underpriced though, maybe 400 gold. As much as some units should be capital only, there is no good way to do that with current modding. I did have some ideas about national heroes, like a Depth Diver with one in each elemental magic. As for what Gollarn look like, I hadn't really decided. They probably would be pale and without hair, but I'm not sure how humanoid.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

[Endoperez]

You can make unit capital only, by e.g. replacing Ulm and replacing Fortress of Ulm units with Gollarn special units by overwriting them. Only safe way to use this is to use national sites of the nation you replace or those of its themes.

[liga]

I like the idea behind this mod ... un under earth nations. I think you can add something like mountain survival to take account of the ability to move underground.

In the description you says that gollarn are amphiious ... which ones ? all the units ?

[quantum_mechani]

liga said:
I like the idea behind this mod ... un under earth nations. I think you can add something like mountain survival to take account of the ability to move underground.

In the description you says that gollarn are amphiious ... which ones ? all the units ?

Mountain survival would be good, I may need to raise the price of the basic units if they have too many goodies though. All the Gollarn are amphibious, the giant bat is not, I havn't decided about the Trapper and Burrower.

I know about overwriteing units from start sites, but I could not come up with a nation that has start sites that fit with the Gollarn.