Ideas needed for worthy heroes mod

[Tyrant]

Thanks for doing this, it was my favorite mod from DomII!

Is there an easy way to make a mod that gives each nation a hero to start the game with?

[fmunoz]

This is a not really needed review of heroes for LA ermor (Last game got them all...) just posted to give some comment there, feel free to ignore it.

Ermor LA has 4 heroes:
- Shade King: Tenebrus is the king of the Shade Lands, the dark waste between the Underworld and the lands of the living. Through his kingdom all dead must pass. When the Soul Gates opened, he answered the call and led his armies through into the lands of the living. Shades and Shade Beasts will sometimes spontaneously appear in his vicinity. Tenebrus is an unholy priest and can summon Shadows and Dispossessed Spirits to his service.

Middly useful, ethereal level 2 priest. Similar ones (minus free shades & shade beasts) can be called by 20-25 death gems. Not much tweaking required.

- Forgotten King: Alcastos was the last priest king of an ancient nation that had fought Ermor. When his kingdom was crushed, he was brought to Eldregate as a prisoner. He swore to serve the Emperor and tie his kingdom to the Empire, but before he could return from the Holy City he witnessed the cataclysmic events that destroyed the Empire. Alcastos was cursed to serve the Ashen Empire in death as he vowed to do in life.

Good one, level 3 priest. A bit weak in the combat side so maybe a few +1 will help him.

- Wraith Lord. Etimmu is a Wraith Lord who once lived in the land of the Sauromancers. He learned their secrets and used them to establish a kingdom of terror in a distant land. He gave himself the title of Priest King and made his people worship him as a god. Etimmu used his dark powers to summon Black Servants to aid him. The temples, the towers, and the palaces were all filled with walking Shades. Etimmu and his servants were finally slain by Udum'ukinna, the son of Ekishnugal, and his Sauromancers. Etimmu's blighted kingdom is still known as the Shaded Lands. Etimmu was given further powers and immortality by the King of the Underworld. Etimmu rides a horrible, flayed spectral horse into battle.

Better than the summonable ones (Worth 40 death gems), good death magic (3 IIRC) medium priest(2). Fear, Immortality and a bane blade gives you really funny times.

- Arch Censor, Caractor was the highest ranking Censor at the time of the Ermor's fall. As Arch Censor, he was responsible for keeping a sharp lookout for corruption among the mages and priests. As punishment for failing this task, the curse struck him harder than his servants. Horrible pain now distorts his dried face and his dead eyes burn with hatred for the living. His physical strength is tremendous and his leathery body is tough as wood.

Not so hot one, better than normal censors... low power thug. Maybe he needs a couple improvements here and there (+1 to some stats, +1 to his cold aura or maybe some magic default battle axe/equipment...)

You can translate all those heroes to a death gems price (need to summon its base unit or a similar one)... so each time you get one its like a 15-50 free gems.

IMHO LA Ermor heroes are ok and maybe only need minor boosts (if any). A lot of nations gets way worse ones.

[B0rsuk]

Late Era Atlantis hero:
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Kane the Wanderer (human)
Chain mail, broad sword
Magic: 2B 2D
Hp: 20
Strength: 15
Base attack: 15
Base defence: 15
Cursed
Immortal
Fear(0)
Leadership: 120

Little is known about Kane's origins. He is a powerful, left-handed man with red hair, said to have killed his brother and been cursed by a mad god with an eternal life of wandering. Kane is an excellent warrior and an accomplished sorcerer, who spends the millennia wandering from one adventure into the next. He is marked as a killer - very few people can look him in the eye without qualms.
Kane is unconcerned with common morality, since no human relationship can ever last more than a small fraction of his lifetime and he frequently ends up on the wrong side in the conflicts in which he involves himself, often to his own detriment. The hero is weary with his own immortality and attempts to give his existence a meaning.
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Please ! I've been thinking about modding him myself. He really fits late Atlantis. Should I explain ? I'll gladly do !

[Turin]

Hmm unique names aren´t really possible and you can´t mod in cursed afaik.
I find the hardest part of creating the hero is writing a description, which doesn´t sound too much like cliche fantasy, so please explain .

[B0rsuk]

Bloodstone
Dark Crusade
Darkness Weaves
by Karl Edward Wagner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_%28fantasy%29

My favourite book would be Darkness Weaves, but it's Bloodstone that really makes Kane fit. Kane is trying to take over the world using a strange artifact (AI) of elder civilisation (the Bloodstone). It is located within ruins inhabited by degenerated members of the civilisation. They look remarkably frog-like and posess great strenght. Kane ends up subduing them and using them as an army.

So, basically, Kane would show up in late Atlantis pursuing his own goals and schemes.

Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoyed the novels. In any case, read them. The athmosphere is so thick and dark it's comparable only with Hexen (game).

For other lovecraftian references, read Darkness Weaves.

If you don't put him in, you'll break my heart.

[Endoperez]

Oh, I thought you alluded to Kain the brother of Abel. That one would fit in as a LA Marignon hero.

Cursed isn't an ability, it's something that happens during the game. It can't be modded, and no creature starts with it AFAIK.

[B0rsuk]

Endoperez said:
Cursed isn't an ability, it's something that happens during the game. It can't be modded, and no creature starts with it AFAIK.

That sucks. I can think of plenty of units, commanders, pretenders starting with curses, or horror marks. Some tartarians, various warlocks and renegade wizards dabbling in forbidden magicks, pretenders cursed in past millenia, and heroes of course. It would add a lot of flavour.
If it's possible for an unit to start with affliction, why disallow curses and horror marks ? Curses and marks make even more sense, because they can't be removed, so they're essentially like stats.