Kaskoid- Am I very much mistaken in supposing your clan possesses a lot of anti-Troll units?

Anyway, reading the posts an idea crept up on me and hit me on the head (always good to improve mental acuity), so I have to purge it from my system:

Bomf the Protector, Troll-Hero-at-Large
Bomf, meaning "too tough to eat" in the language of the Northerling Barbarians, was always a loner. Protected by the steamy fogs of the hot springs from ossifiyng, the northerlings came slowly to accept his presence. And anyway he was handy in getting rid of the Elementals aggregating around the lava pits. Over time some basic worldview etched itself into Bomf´s crystall pathways. 1. Creatures mingling around Bomf = good 2. Creatures poking pointy sticks/appendages at Bomf = bad 3. Creatures pointing pointy sticks/apps at Minglers = very bad. Protecting all Minglers is now Bomf´s calling, even though some Southerling Minglers seem challenged to accept the concept.

Troll Hero, Alignment good

sentinel
The sentinel doesn't do much. He sits and that's about it. He wont move often unless he spots an ennemy.
He is used as a spy. His vision is greatly increased because seeing is the only other thing he does besides sitting. He can see farther than anyone. He can see the spies of the enemy and he can even see during the night.
He has a long spear for defending him against attackers. Because his spear is long he'll probably hit you first before you can strike him. His melee skill are rather bad.
He is always covered with dense vegation that grows on him. Therefor he's rarely seen on most terrains.

I like the idea of bomf the protector, but I think it would work better as a frostling hero as they're the closest to the northerlings, which would make him neutral.

EDIT: Plus heros don't have to be smart, they have to be unique.

[This message has been edited by MitchK1989 (edited 01-15-2006 @ 12:25 PM).]

Maye a Yeti type hero with hurl snowball? ....

Thanks for the description Takolin

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-15-2006 @ 04:33 PM).]

Fluesterwitz---

I really have no particular animus for trolls. In fact, I kind of like them in a dim, brutish sort of way.

They make a great monster/adversary; I love killing them and promoting my heros on the gore-splattered corpses of trolls.

MitchK1989---

Heros don't have to be smart??? We might as start calling them Larger, more accomplished leader figures; LMALF, pronounced el-malf.

While as a teacher I am well aware that "smart" is a relative thing, I just can't see a troll as smart enough to be a hero. So report me to ARWOTH--Assoc. to Rid the World Of Troll Haters.

hey,

i've been gone for a while.. since before the upatch came out. But for me, the main benefit of the upatch was a new dwiggs would come out afterward. I thought I'd be up for helping, but work has been a real monster lately. Anyhow, I'll help if things change, but for now I just wanted to cheer you all on and say I appreciate the work and look forward to playing or testing any new dwigg mod. I might even be able to drag skeltz out of his hole to do so.

zyl

Hey Zylithan,

it's terrific to see you! When it comes time to play test, I hope to get your feedback. Maybe you should have Skeltz read (reread) Plato's allegory of the cave....

To all: I'm waiting on a some ilb from various contributers that should be finished soon. We will then get the new ability list made up. And then, after I finish updating the ability list, the mod will be ready to play test

regards,

BJ

Large mummy hero

Setut
Once a great king, but alas Setut is no more. He was poisoned by his son IntefI. But soon a riot strated because he was welloved by all. He was one of the last who were mumified before the ancient Tigrans unlearen this art.
Only a few years back did the tigrans found his coffin and with new techniques they summoned him back to the world of the living.
Setut now a lively mummy has the power to strangle on with his bandages. He smites his foes with his ancient mace. He strikes fear into the hearts of fair maidens.
His magicalpowers as pharao were once renowend. But time has inflicted his damage. But he still is a great magician in comparison with others of his race.

Cheers again, Takolin

On a progress note, I've finally got the existing ability list updated. Now, I just need to finalize whatever changes we decide to make. Please post your own suggestions, keeping gameplay balance in mind. A few examples of my thoughts:

1. Hurl boulder had 1 attack in Dwiggs 4.5. I like the low attack/high damage idea, but 1 is a bit low. I've bumped it up to 5.

2. Fire Cannon. I don't think cannons are particularly accurate, unless we create a shrapnel effect as Torso suggested. So, the cannon attack goes down to 14 and the damage goes up to 14. It would really be damaging to get hit by a cannon, I think....

3. I took down the attack of Drain Will (it was 20). I'm not sure if this will make a difference, though, as this may be one of those hardcoded abilities. Anyway, it should generally suceed, but some units should be harder to drain wills on. Otherwise, why have 'em?

4. I made Divine Breath higher attack and lower damage, with Black Breath higher damage but lower attack. Evil is nastier but less accurate, I opine....

Just some ideas, but the above is not set in stone.

Regards,

BJ

Quoted from Stranger:

Soon...

Hurl Boulder's 1 att meant that it was effective against walls mostly...which made it a little unique, IMO. More damage for Black Breath sounds ok, especially as with Cursed, it can increase the damage. Now, the good races will have something to whine about.
But, I hope the differences in attack/damage is not too much.

[This message has been edited by Timelord (edited 01-17-2006 @ 05:08 AM).]

I'm not entirely sure what the current ATT value of shoot javelin is, but I seem to remember that it could use a little boost.

Dark Fairy
If Fairies are attracted to Elves because Elvendom represents (most) of what is good, bright and wholesome then one has to admit that the Dark Elves have their share of groupies too. Some of the more blatantly evil (in a stylish manner) of those are the Dark Fairies. Usually solitary creatures they have been accused of making good girls and boys stray from the Path of Righteousness. They are also quite bad. In combat they support their dark allies by phasing in on, and eliminate, valuable targets like healers. They do not fear Death as at least some have the ability to return from It. Dark Fairies would make excellent infiltrators if not for the fact that, as evil accumulates within them, they start to distort the very land they pass.

Phase, Extra Strike, Resurgence (Silver), Path of Decay (Gold)

Stranger- I am breeding an idea for the Life Summons, do you have any specific graphic in mind?

Eta: Spelling is my friend, even if I neglect her.

[This message has been edited by Fluesterwitz (edited 01-17-2006 @ 07:00 AM).]

Woops...forgot to take the Dark Fairy off the list after Takolin's description. Now, I'll just have to make a hero to use Fluster's good work

Fluster, as for the life summons, I'm open to anything. If you come up with a good idea (which I'm sure you will ), I can probably find the right graphic.

Time, I was not referring to your ilbs specifically In regards to hurl boulder, it would still have a very low attack, which would make it mainly a wall crusher. But my thought is that even a badly thrown boulder would hit a bit more often than the one in Dwiggs 4.5.

Cheers,

BJ

Takolin- Sorry, I somehow missed your Dark Fairy description

The Purger (Lvl1 Life Summons)
Keeping Nature´s Domain free from intrusions and, worse, corruption is the self-imposed duty of all who worship her. Even the most devoted life wizard will find his attention preoccupied with other tasks eventually, therefore the essence of life manifests itself in the shape of the Purger to assist the wizard. The Purger travells unseen in grasslands and forests, hindering evil and supporting good. Not especially suited to warlike endeavors, a well maintained Purger in time will gain the ability to restore even the most putrified terrain to serene beauty.

Att 4, Dam 2, Def 8, Res 10, HP 8, MP 24, Cost 50
Forestry, Grassland Concealment, Entangling Strike
Healing1 (Silver), Path of Life (Gold)

Eta: Is there any possibility to make an ability like "Pathfinding"?
A unit possessing an ability like Forestry or Cave Crawling plus Pathfinding would extend its effect to all units in the same stack. IIRC something like that was used in Warlords 2/3.

[This message has been edited by Fluesterwitz (edited 01-18-2006 @ 08:19 AM).]

Quote:

This is possible in theory but it didn't work in practise (yet). Ideally, it would also have to be a 'new' ability, which is another technical challenge.

Hows the mod coming along, Stranger?

[This message has been edited by swolte (edited 01-18-2006 @ 10:59 AM).]

Good work, Fluster Now, what sort of shape/size do you see this creature being? I'll try and find something....

Swolte, she's a comin', though not as fast as I had hoped. But, now that I've got *most* of the menial labour, such as updating stuff, out of the way, we can begin thundering down the home stretch. I did write thundering....

Regards,

bj

Stranger---

This finishes your list.

Fighting monk

Every now and then, a traveler, if he travels enough, might meet a member of the Order of Keslas. He might recognize him by his plaid sash; he might recognize him from his distinctive hair style; he might know him by the ornate flute that he carries; very rarely, he may see one in action and see for himself the reasons for the tales told around the campfires on the caravan routes.

Keslas was an ascetic who once roamed the wilderness in search of Enlightenment. He found his when he met The Old One. From him, in the course of twelve brutal years of training and study, he learned to use his body as a most lethal weapon.
He also learned secrets of nature, insights into behavior and the ability to go where he wished with no disturbances.
Acolytes sought him out to study the ways of the world around them and learn from his lips. Many of them went away and founded academies of their own to teach the Way of Keslas.

Keslazrians today, as they have come to be known, carry no weapons but a staff and seek the ways of Justice. Woe betide any being that thinks them easy prey; a simple staff in their hands becomes a most efficient weapon.

Wow, I can't wait to play this mod... Are you using old descriptions for heros as well? So far I haven't seen that many heros on the list here...

Well done, Kaskoid. I may need to create an acolyte too now But...I'm afraid I can only thank you by adding several more units that lack descriptions...

Yes, Mitch, I'll be using some of the oldies too--the ones I think are the best. Some of them were written rather hastily I'm looking forward to playing the mod too!

Also: congratulations to everyone who contributed in finishing 83 new heroes and units! Without a doubt, I will add a few more, and you are all welcome to make additional suggestions. Great job . On a related note, I've added all the descriptions to their respective units, along with an initial denoting the author.

With finshing the mod in mind, I need some help from anyone who can use photo shop or paint shop pro to edit bitmap images. As we are adding three new, distinct races, we need to edit the old city images for the Draconians, Shadow Demons, and Syrons. What needs to happen is to extract the bitmap images from the ilbs files, edit them to suit the races, then put them back in ilb format. Most of the new structures for patch 1.4 were created in this manner, by modifying existing structures in a graphics editing program. If anyone feels that they would like to attempt this, please email me or post here.

Cheers,

BJ

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-19-2006 @ 04:48 AM).]

The_Stranger,

Quote:

So am I. But do you still call the mod ...for Dwigs"? A while ago I asked you why not to make AI build wizards tower, and you said that so was supposed by Dwiggs. But as a lot of time has passed since Dwigs' Dwigs, isn't it time to call it somehow other than Dwiggs and be free of any dwigs restrictions? I used DwigMod myself. Though I liked it, it's clear now that some features of DwigMod are obsolete. Some issues now have better solutions than it was proposed a year ago. BTW there was no v.1.4. then.
But in either way it would be great to see your (all who was involved) mod.

[This message has been edited by Webusver (edited 01-19-2006 @ 05:19 AM).]

whoohoo new units
The phantom warrior.
Whispers of fear roam the countryside. The nameless warrior has enterend the land.
Maidens shriek and infants cry on their mothers lap, for this is the evil monster that stole their husbands and fathers in a brutish way.
For he is nearly immortal. All but the life wizards granted him immortality in exchange for some of his powers. But since the life wizards refused, he is easily slain by the forces of good and holy.
But he doens't fear them. Because they must be fast enough to hit him or else their head lies next to their body.

Gurdian spirit
The guardian spirit is a creature made from the purest light. He is not a fighter but a healer. When he comes around the spirits are raised.
His conection with the Lifegods makes him capable to come back from the land of the death and even to take other with him. But for this he must make an oath.
He must promise that he'll never pick up a sword for if he does he shall lose his powers and die instantly.
The training of a guardian is hard and long and isn't for the weak of mind. Weeks without food and scarely any water isn't abnormal, but once they can the Light, they know isn't wasn't in vain.
But those who fail, shall never been seen.

Stranger- IMO the Purger should be visually unimposing being a stealthy lvl1 unit. A tumbleweed with creeping and crawling branches should do the trick nicely.

Dancing Sword and Enchanted Armor. Are these supposed to be magically animated units or are descriptions for items needed?

Gremlin
Also known as "Tinkerfairies" or "Dunkelheinzel", Gremlins are drawn to machinery, the more complex the better. Consequently Dwarves suffer most by the Gremlin´s quest for improvement while no Goblin Siegemaster ever lacked an excuse for his failings. It has been theorized the Gemlins were taught their ability to cast Black Bolts by the Nekron Deathlord Malleus Vita in exchange for tinkering with a heap of bones until they had created the first Bone Horror.

[This message has been edited by Fluesterwitz (edited 01-19-2006 @ 10:11 AM).]

I would like to take my shot at the cities, I will try to extract the ILB's and edit them. Maybe you can explain where they are, you have my e-mail if you don't want to spoil this topic. Perhaps you can also give a bit of an idea of what you would like to see for the cities. Is it possible for the nomad caravan to handle a spear?
Often you see nomad cities getting stolen by a lvl 1, and then being attacked by one as well. Throw spear can sometimes give that little advantage the caravan needs. Also it's picture is clearly holding a spear. One bad thing is that the graphics won't look very good me thinks. Also I hope that the AI won't 'build' them in their capital and cities
How about some optional gentleman rules as well, coming along with the mod? Especially about precasting, and the usage of catalysts (bug). While I think dwiggs is played very little on gamespy lately, as Air mentioned, I still would love to play some more games. Maybe you can mail me for one, since you seem rather occupied during weekdays.

Fluster and Takolin, thank you for your speedy descriptions. You're almost too fast for me Fluster, the Dancing Sword and Enchanted Armour are animated units. A special...prize...will be given to the one who can think of how to make them the most interesting as well as write the descriptions

Joepushka, the ilbs are in AoWsm/images/races. Use the ilb editor to select the races mentioned. There is a thread on getting ilbs into bitmaps again and vice versa here, I think:

http://aow.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=33,3824,,all

By the by, I was in gamespy a couple times last week, but only Air and Lev wanted to play Dwiggs :'( But we will change that soon, no doubt....

Take care,

BJ

Stranger---

Quit making new units, dammit.

Spawned in the cold, cold depths of the abyssal seas, born from the mana released when an ultra powerful Thaumaturge of the First Epoch drowned, the Eyes of the Deep are feared by all who swim or sail.
Luckily, they prefer the inky depths, but must occasionally come into the shallower water to feed. They feed on mana; the very stuff of magic.
EoDs seek out bearers of mana, and consume the source or repository of that supernatural power. They will as likely devour a wizard as an enchanted artifact or item. When they have ingested and assimilated all the power, the remnants are excreted. Their lairs, if you could ever find one and enter it, are littered with bones and rusted implements.

If ever you should perform some cosmic feat of derring-do, or rend the fabric of the world with mighty magicks, a deity might notice. Assuming that your act doesn’t enrage them, causing them to manifest on your plane and suck your very soul from your living body, they may wish to reward you.
Hope for a Guardian Spirit; it may save your life many times over in the future.
These beings are bound to their owners according to pacts agreed to eons before, and find their total reason for existence in the protection and care of their owners. They are thought to be a sub-race of the djinn; when the djinn and their allies were defeated in the War Before Time, they were bound to this servitude as a condition for letting their kind survive. They are utterly loyal and will never abandon their charge. They will keep him (or her) healthy and alive through all travails and perils. Some do not even believe in their continued existence; they are extremely rare.

I'm thinking about the dancing sword and magickal armour.

I decided to take a shot at the Dancing Sword, or Katakiri, as it is called in my descrption (Dancing Sword sounded too lame for a sword with such gruesome beginnings!)

If ever a need arose to kill a powerful mage or a wizard, the Cult of Shadowdancers was the first to be approached. A renegade group of dark elf warriors and priestesses, the Shadowdancers were deadly wielders of the Katakiri - a unique sword impervious to the natural magics. Soaked in the life-blood of a pure mage and tempered in the fabled Lightning Forges present in the heart of the Shadowdancer fortress, it is rumoured that each strike of the Katakiri harnesses the energy from deep inside the Forges, effectively stunning its opponent.
The final step of the ritual invloves the ultimate sacrifice from the dark elf who will be its master - cutting off an arm and using its bone as the hilt of the Katakiri, wrapping it in the burnt skins of the severed hand. This final step grants the Katakiri the power to deal a devastating blow, as if it were a great sword wielded in two hands. By this same ritual, the Katakiri is bound to the soul of its wielder, turning to dust when its master is killed. For this reason, pure Katakiri are never seen by people outside the Shadowdancer cult and many do not even believe in their existence. However, in the rare ritual when the dark elf dies after severing his arm, the Katakiri is cast out by the priestess as cursed and reside in areas of dark magic, biding their time. Never truly bound to its master and animated by the immense magic inside it, Katakiri is a powerful companion for the lucky adventurer who finds it and more importantly, can control it.

Suggested stats and abilities (to keep in line with the description)
9/13/8/15/16/28 (lvl 3, Gender: It, Alignment:Evil) - Magic/Fire/Cold/Lightning/Poison/Death Imm, Lightning Strike, Blurred, Double Strike (have to check the animation, I think I have this ILB too), Physical Protection(?)

Edit: maybe Immunities at Silver and Protections at start. With Physical Imm at Gold?.

[This message has been edited by Timelord (edited 01-20-2006 @ 02:17 AM).]

Cheers Takolin, Kaskoid, Fluster, and Time. Perhaps we could compose an AoW description writer's tune: "Parsley, sage, rosemary and ti..." never mind. At any rate, I think we have some writers at least of the caliber of Paul Simon.

Timelord, I am glad to find you contributing to our descriptions. I will make the sword in line with your conception.

Kaskoid, if you would stop provoking me by writing such excellent descriptions, I wouldn't be tempted to create more units. People who live in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones....

Would anyone like to see new wizards? I am planning on finishing this aspect of the mod next.

Regards,

BJ

Stranger, new wizards would be cool! Though, I hope that you will keep the ones that came with Dwiggs5, especially the Lady in Red.

What is the timeline you are looking at for releasing the mod?. Nothing to do with ILBs I have to send to you...just curious.
...and Joepo, if you need a helping hand, shoot me an email!

Isn't it better to give the dancing sword, all kinds of different strikes and give the enchanted armour the numerous protections?

My good Timelord, I'm far too fond of redheads to let a lady in red slip away. Rest assured, she will remain. I may dump a few wizards from the races that have many of 'em already. The Archons come to mind. Alternatively, I could eliminate/replace some of the original wizards. Some of them bore me and, I suspect, other players as well. Whether we can all agree on the "boring" ones is subject to contention, literally

Takolin, I'm inclined to say that both armour and sword should get some protections. After all, they are both made of the same stuff and, one assumes, animated by the same magic. The difference in my mind would be that the sword would have stronger offensive statistics and the armour would have better defensive ones (DEF and RES).

As we are moving along here, I want to encourage all players, single and multi, to list whatever they feel is an imbalance or detrimental aspect of the mod. Whether a unit, a spell, or a race....feedback is very welcome. We're working toward a beta in the next couple weeks!

Thanks again,

BJ