The desperate need for a Broudair was what drove the few remaining members of the Shadowdancer Cult to flee when a cursed Katakiri chose to flex its magical strength within the confines of the Fortress. Powerless against the stunning strikes of the sword, the displaced Priestesses finally realized that weapons do not distinguish between master and foe. Their very survival threatened by the possibility of another such outbreak, they set to crafting an armour that will be the nemesis of the Katakiri - to be used only by the Priestesses. Having no access to the Lightning Forges and thus, unable to counter the stunning strikes of the Katakiri, the Priestess searched far and wide to enchant the armor with magics for which the Katakiri had no counter. The Broudair came into existence, a curious artifact forged by Dark Elf priestesses but blessed with Holy Magic.

Suggested stats and abilities:
10/5/13/16/19/28 (att/dam/def/res/hp/mp) (lvl3, Gender:It, Alignment:Good) - Magic/Fire/Cold/Poison/Holy Prot (Silver: Immunity?), Holy Strike. Maybe Physical Protection at Gold?.

No Lightning Imm to keep in line with the desc but has Holy Strike - basically Broudair and the Katakiri can counter each other, thematically atleast!

Edit: Stranger, maybe you can remove some of the standard wizards that were used as heroines in Dwiggs - Artica comes to mind as one (though I like her too!!). Why don't you remove all the standard male wizards only? Leave the women in!

[This message has been edited by Timelord (edited 01-20-2006 @ 06:23 AM).]

BTW: Even though by looking at attack and dam compared to archery, the ____ bolts abilities could use some love, they usually suck because most units in dwiggs have higher res than def. Maybe change bolts spells to like 14 ATT 4 Dam (maybe 5 for magic bolts to make up for the lack of cursing ect.). Also, are you going the way of the UPatch and making lightning bolts a 3 shot ability? I think you should, as right now it's just a crappy version of call lightning with no splash.

Quote:

Is there a link where it's possible to see the new numbers?

(general readers skip this following, slight diatribe and move on to the next paragraph)

Time, I'll take the armour. In regards to removing all the male wizards, I would like to remind you of your now defunct bachelor's status. And, if this should fail to render you sensible of your obligations, let me furthermore state that, as Mark Twain noted, no man, even Heracles or Samson, could possibly do physiological justice to the allotment of lovely damsels attributed to Solomon, nor even, I dare say, to the group inhabiting our little mod. That is to say, moderation is not only suitable to our ideologies but our "abilities" as well....

Speaking of contests and damsels (among other folk), I've been mulling an idea for those who like to write. I include myself in this group. Perhaps this idea would be best introduced in a new thread. Anyhow, it's this:

A contest for short stories relating to the world and characters of Age of Wonders. In my case, I would like them to relate to the Dwiggs SM world and hopefully the new races and creatures populating it. What I want is to give this world a background, a history, so that it seems familiar to the player whenever they load the game. Just a thought...

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-21-2006 @ 00:45 AM).]

There is a series of Sword & Sorcery anthologies that were published starting in the '70s called Thieves World.

Read the introduction to the first two books (read the books if you can, they are worth the effort); each short story is written by a different author (all big names then, some still are) and deals only with his or her character(s). In this way the world becomes revealed in a patchwork fashion.

We would need to emulate that model. It could be done.

1. We would need to decide who among us wishes to take part.
2. We would all have to list our favorite areas of interest in the mod. E.g., partial to the frozen north and killer penguins, or, enamaored of the Nomads and see them as modern day members of the Golden Horde, etc.
3. Someone would have to collect all this data and compile it. We could then know all those areas that only one or two are interested and let them do them; with the ones that several are interested in, we can make some accomadations with each other. In this way we can establish several standard "truths" that we all would abide by or at least recognize.

Just a thought...

Furthermore, I have finished adding over 100 new hero portraits to the mod in ilb format so that they can be used by map makers as well as being part of the mod. In addition, I have added something like 80 new graphics for various items, ranging from shovels to saddals to staffs to lanterns, etc. On top of this, I have found the time to add the portraits for 10 new wizards, all very lively and interesting I think. Some of these portraits are standard fantasy fare, while others are take from classical art sources. We'll see if you can recognize Botticelli

Regards,

BJ

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-21-2006 @ 05:12 AM).]

EDIT: I assume the new heros from the UPATCH will be included? The new draconian hero that's on the throne is wicked to the extreme.

[This message has been edited by MitchK1989 (edited 01-21-2006 @ 01:29 PM).]

and yes, I still need some help from those good folk who are willing

I am looking for a few more portraits, specifically a large portrait for a Lizard Wizard (the fat guy on the throne) that can be worked into two images sizes 480x720 and 180x220. I also need two hero portraits for the rat hero described by Fluster. They are rat faced folk wearing hats (berets) but anything that's not too cute and mousy would be fine

The new wizards will, of course, require descriptions as well....

Cheers,

BJ

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-21-2006 @ 02:33 PM).]

I am setting off on my own scary journey; taking four grandkids ages 11 to 3 to Disney World in Orlando. The Magic Kingdom, Fantasyland; seems appropriate for me.

It is true that the streets of the Magic Kingdom are paved with gold; all the $$$ they squeeze out of the hapless visitors.

Will be returning Thurs. evening; looking forward to the beta.

Dwiggs Reigns!

Progress: I recoloured some units today. All that remains is to update some new abilities, recolour the new racial buildings, and finish recolouring some of the new units/heroes. And, of course, to write some myths/stories for our mod....

Regards,

BJ

When the world was young...
the Highones, determined to get rid of, but not kill, their miscreants. They exiled the minds of the delinquents into the bodies of magnificent creatures, capable of flight, almost invulnerable to random accidents but lacking any means of fine motoric manipulation. The misfits were brought to a place where they could do no harm, the native lifeforms too primitive to matter in the schemes of the Highones. Then, whether by design or accident, all comunication was abandoned.
***
Left to their own devices some of the Drach or Outcasts turned upon the others in vicious anger, others tried to adapt and survive and some reformed their ways and strove to atone for their former behaviour. The most intelligent or cunning, independently of alignment, set upon a plan to improve their lot by employing the two main resources available in their new haven. The first was an unusually strong magical field, the second those primitive beings, ready to accept the winged workers of miraculos deeds as deities. Thus began the era of the Dragongods!
***
The Dragongods in time perfected both their command of Magic and, by careful breeding, the stock of their Underlings or Oldones. There were three main strains of Oldones:
- the Alvi, long lived and with high magical aptitude but physically weak and slow to procreate; they were to support the Dragongods magical endeavors,
- the Drewan, with low magical potential but being physically strong and with mechanical talents to do labor and construction work and finally
- the Hobbled or Halfones, again physically small and weak but with even nimbler fingers than the Drewan to work in places to confined for the others.
Whatever the masterplan may have been, if it even existed, the Dragongods provided for their own downfall by bestowing the gift of magic to the Alvi who eventually rebelled, and with superior numbers and in league with the Drewan an Halfones killed their gods or made them flee. The peace between the erstwhile allies turned out to be precarious however and the Alvi undertook some creative breeding of their own to maintain their superiority. They created a warrior-race, after their own image, but stronger, more aggressive, faster breeding and without much use or talent for magic - the Hamuni. The Drewan Runelords enacted their countermeasures, their thaumic methods being much cruder the results were cruder also. The Orgo would do anything the Hamuni could, only more extreme. But, as a safety measure the Drewan had also dug shelters were their most important leaders and their retainers would be safe. The Halfones, being mostly peaceful cast their lot with the Alvi. During the Age of Strive deeds were done, heroic and abysmal, few of which were recorded, fewer records still survived. In the end some faction or other developed and used the Curse of Sundering. The descendants of the Oldones - Elves, Dwarves and Halflings - as well as Humans, Orks and dozens of other races created in desperation, by magical fallout or awakened were driven into the farthest reaches. Only after centuries was another generation of mages and warlords ready to renew the battle for dominance.

Gremlins are distant cousins of Leprechauns - less healthy than rural counterparts, but more skilled with artificial things.
They are even more mischievous, but sometimes are quite helpful too, since their understanding of machines allows them repair, not only harm (at least when in friendly mood).

Dwarves usually consider Gremlin to be most annoying creature ever, but human mechanicians with larger (or more twisted) sense of humor sometimes able to find common language (generally using small bribes).
Some captains have dealings with such creatures, and (unlike most engineers) sailors respect their ship's Gremlin (also known as Klaubatermann) very much - as anything that can aid them in ship's maintenance.

These creatures can pass through obstacles with ease.

Experienced¹ Gremlins can collect and spread Pixie Dust upon area to play dirty tricks on foes and enjoy its unpredicable effects at the same time.

¹ If Pixie Dust base Att/Def will be lowered, Gremlin have this attack from beginning, otherwise on silver medal.

P.S.: I formulated my own set of complete performance characteristics for unit, but i sent it to fellow with "Gremlin" nickname for corrections & additions and now waiting for his answer.

Good work on that description by the way

Of Gods and Kin
"...Pharomtix Suneye however did not like what she saw. The new cratures did not deserve to hallow her name; she left them for whoever might deem them fit for adoption and cast her eye for candidates more suitable for improvement. Finally she chose as prophet and servant Emros Flamewielder the leader of a breed of merfolk, struggling tenaciously to conquer a new environs. Even today the Draconians keep steadfast in the worship of their deity..."
Albandus Fitzfaye, "Lore from the Oldones"

The beta is probably a week or two away. We still have a few loose ends I'd like to tie up: mainly, I need to finish recolouring units, and we need to finish up some abilities and the new races' cities. On an encouraging note, Joep showed me his Fey Folk city buildings, and he's doing an excellent job! They have mushrooms for roofs!

Some of the stuff I made so far, I hope you guys can give some comment on them. I defenitely think they can be improved. There are also shadow demon structures used in the syron cities. I replaced it with the white house on the second photo. I thought this neutral house would be both good in the demon and fey folk city.

While I do have some idea how to make the fey folk city look like, I don't have much of a clue what to do with the demons. Is there any story like thing finished on them yet, like the racial story?

I shall also make a list of things to do, I cannot promise I will be done with them in 2 weeks. This since college is college is keeping me more busy then I like. If anyone else can do some as well, it would be a great help.

*new tactical map structures Ex-Syrons (in progress)
*new global map city view Ex-Syrons
*new tactical map structures Ex-Shadow Demons
*new global map city view Ex-Shadow Demons

optional:

*new tactical map tactical Lizardmen
*new global map city view Lizardmen

Would they really need a new city and such?
The draconians are already very lizardmen like. Also some screenshots of the fey folk/demon units would be cool, you know where to mail them at. And maybe a description of what you would see in their city.

The tree looks just ok, but the houses pop out too much, imo. Its also too 'straight and clean' and it doesn't look natural, if you get what I mean. Perhaps a few green pixels on the treehouses will help with one aspect. As a TC map, I don't like the combination of the buildings.

The idea of that tree I like lots, though! During patchwork, we even tried making one of these as a Watchtower, but the linked TC map would be too deviant from the Worldmapview.

Suggestion: perhaps, for the fey folk, recoloring some of the 'old' syron TC buildings to a light green would look nice? I always felt they had more potential but we never got to it! I might actually have some old stuff on the HD of 'failed' concepts by King David that LOOK good but didn't make it in the context we needed them (or we found better), but might suit here.

Plz remind me if I forget because I am not home that often anymore!

Good luck and let me know if you need help.

This is going to be a great mod and I guess the coming weeks there will be tons of treats for us AoW-ers!! It'll be overwhelming! The maps I played for the competition were ALL truly stunning and the mods I see close to release (RosenMcSterns and this one), look like entire new games in itself!

[This message has been edited by swolte (edited 01-27-2006 @ 10:16 AM).]

thank you for the screenshots. If we could make the Draconian structures green with a bit of brown, I would be content. I'll try and get you a story for the Fey and Demons some time in the next two days. Unfortunately, I'm working quite a bit. However, I think the Shadow Demon structures could be inhabited by the demons with a few minor changes: I'd either go with a conventional red, jagged sort of demonic look, or perhaps a gloomier, darker, secluded and run down look...as if the demons were inhabiting the ruins and dark corners of fearful places.

In regards to the pictures, I agree with Swolte that in the first on the roof just needs to shrink a wee bit. Otherwise, perfect In the second, if the tree houses could be lightened in colour a little bit, with a perhaps a touch of green trim, they would nestle nicely into the trees. Of the buildings, one of them should probably go, as the tall, rectangular ones are too different from teh blockish, slanted ones.

Keep up the good work, Joep, and thank you for sharing!

Swolte, I will remind you to send me those things you've got lurking on your harddrive. Just make sure that you rmeind me to remind you

Regards,

BJ

I have sent some stuff, Stranger!
All from King Davids 'Hall of Shame'!

Couldn't resist, sorry... must not be getting jealous of his new map, must not...)

[This message has been edited by swolte (edited 01-27-2006 @ 08:21 PM).]

Dwiggs! What an unexpected pleasure. Have you moved? Anyhow, I'm looking forward to your feedback on the project you boldy began so long ago...

Update: I'm working on the Excel and readme files.

Cheers,

BJ

[This message has been edited by The_Stranger (edited 01-28-2006 @ 01:08 AM).]

Also, once this version which had to be made 1.4 compatible is finished, what are the plans for dwiggmod? I think the next version (if there is one) should focus almost entirely on heros and give us more custom heros, because I feel that along with the use of low level units are the highlights of dwiggs.