Dungeon faction, H6 style (long- but worth it!)

[moon11]

Dungeon faction, H6 style

I know this faction already appears on my Fortress thread, but as I'm very proud of it as my greatest creation (being my favorite faction) I've decided to give it extra exposure in a seperate thread.



* Dungeon:

Aka: The Warlocks, the Dark Ones, the Banished

“The Path to Power lies in the Shadows"

A conflicted society of city states, clans and kingdoms which inhabitate the dark places underneath Ashan- collectively called the Abyss. In the harsh, lightless environment the only thing that matters is power- be it might, magic or cunning. A byzantine, secretive and treacherous political network somehow holds the various sub-factions together, as they are guided towards a common goal by unseen and elusive masters- the Faceless.

Dungeon societies make their living off mining the Abyss' precious resources (especially Gold, Ore and Dragonblood Crystal in the deeper parts) and trade with each other and the surface, usually done through especially amoral human proxies. The main products they offer are resources, slaves and beasts of war and secrets- especially of the kind that shifts power and breaks kingdoms. Other times, they embark on massive yet brief military campaigns, intent not on conquest (the wars for territory are usually fought between rivalling Dungeon towns for control of an underground area- and thus the surface above it) but on the capture of resources and especially slaves- to work in the mines and serve as fodder for vile sacrificial rites and magical experiments. Those slaves unfit for service, mining or even experiment fodder become food for the Dungeon monsters' ravenous appetites.

* Humans make a small but important minority in the Dungeon cities. These humans who make their living underground are usually criminals, mad (at least slightly) or simply so power-hungry they embraced life in the Abyss- or were banished into it. In the cities of the Falcon Empire and the Freeholds of the East, many Thieves' and Assassins' guilds are secretly in league with the Dungeon- in return for information, assassination services and mercantile aid they gain access to secrets, exotic merchandise (including especially potent drugs) and especially safe passage through the underground tunnels- allowing them to deliver smuggled goods far from the eyes of the Law and take refuge from the Imperial Army and the Inquisition. Many of the Dungeon leaders- Overlords and Warlocks- are humans, and hold the other physically-superior races in an iron fist of might and magic.

* Dark Elves are the newest addition to the Abyss, and seem to be taking over by the day. Gracious and deadly, they are seeking to subjucate all the other underground races to their will under the banner of a Holy Crusade for their goddess Malassa.

* Minotaurs are the strongest of the Beastmen- but are far from being stupid. While nominally warrior-slaves and gladiators for the amusement of human and Dark Elf elite, some Minotaurs buy their freedom with blood and rise to power.

* Troglodytes are blind and tortured creatures of shadowy origin. They comprise the bulk of the Dungeon infantry, and are said to act (at least partially) on a direct mental link with the Faceless- thus . While normally barely intelligent to do anything other than hitting with their crooked polearms and maintaining some formation, the occasional Troglodyte sometimes shows promise and rise to leadership position- some say by recalling memories from a pre-mutant life...

Banished from Irollan for a crime they didn't commit, the Dark Elves seek to carve a place for themselves in the underworld of the Abyss.
The newly arrived clans, led by Prince Raelag, pose a united front against the cities whicg are ruled by a plethora of warring Overlords, Warlocks, Black Dragons and Faceless lords. With the blessing of the Dark Goddess, they must make their name and prove their might- or be devoured by the terrible inhuman beasts which call the Abyss home.

Dungeon armies are some of the most dreaded forces in all Ashan.
Relentless and cruel training methods which ensure only the survival of the fittest and iron discipline- together with abilities already far superior to those of normal man and beasts- create a force not to be trifled with. In short, Dungeon forces bring a powerful combination of mobility and offensive melee power combined with better-than-average survivability rates to the field- single unit wise, they are the most powerful faction in the game (perhaps rivalled by Academy). Their only shortcomings are low growth rates and a high price per each unit (forcing a dependance on strong economy and tactical gameplay) and sub-par healing and support abilities. Their shooters are also slightly inferior to those of other factions and despite their mobility they have only 1 flyer- but they make up for these in the fact Warlocks and any moderately-experienced (and up) Overlords serve as a one-man artillery with mastery over destructive and harmful magic- especially Dark, Earth, Fire and Prime, which they can further empower through their Racial ability of Dark Arts.

Country / kingdom:

The Abyss

Capital city:

Ygg-Shaloth, the Crawling City- is the capital of Alamar- the so-called "Underking", the megalomaniac Warlock who controls the majority of the Abyss due to his alliance with the dread Black Dragons. The Dark Elves dwell in a set of Faceless ruins called Ygg-Chall.

Worship

The conflicting cities worship a plethora of gods, none of them benevolent. The most common- being the god of the Faceless and Dark Elves- is Malassa, but others include Urgash and Borrkan- the Dragon of the Wild (especially among the beast-handler caste).

The recent events

The arrival of the Dark Elves had brought war to the Abyss. The dark spaces are far from empty, and many of the hideous monsters and dark things they encounter already serve a dread master- Alamar, the Underking, Master of the Black Dragon, said to be much more (or less) than a human being. If Raelag wants a place for his people other than slaves or food for Alamar's beasts- he has take it by force!

Dungeon denizens look upon the Falcon Empire humans with distaste at best. Sometimes a foolish Knight or Cleric leads his flock in a crusade to "bring Elrath's Light into the Abyss"- a good opportunity to hone the army's fighting skills, capture new slaves and feed the beasts. Yet, in surface areas where the human presence is strong, Dungeons often trade with them through amoral and greedy human proxies in the Thieves' Guilds- while at the same time weakenning them from within with their endless plotting and brokering of harmful secrets.

The Necromancers of Asha often make allies to the Warlocks, alebit unreliable ones due to their fanatic devotion to Asha (as Malassa's worship is mostly opportunistic in nature in most Dungeon socieites).
Many Warlocks had actually gone to study Necromancy with Asha's cults to bolster their own forces- though Asha's worshippers frown upon their unchecked and selfish- and thus far weaker- use of the Grey Art.

Due to Sheogh's relative proximity to the Abyss and the plethora of fiery vents and portals leading to the Demons' prison-world, there have been many encounters between Demonic and Dungeon forces in the past- usually ending in conflict, but sometimes short-term alliances which quickly shatter as the balance of power shifts. It is said Alamr himself is actually dreaming of releasing Urgash- and enslaving him to his will, becoming a god in the process.

The Orcs are interesting- a race of magical mongrels which gained their freedom and established a culture of their own- alebit stupid and primitive. This proves a dangerous example to the Dungeons' own slaves- and thus conflict is extremely common, especially due to the Orcs' magic-hating nature.

Wild Ones are viewed slightly better than the Orcs, due to the fact they don't completely despise magic. Trade in spell components and especially beasts of war is quite common in places where they co-exist- but these alliances are extremely fickle, to say the least.

The Naga are outdated fools, a once-great race whose devotion to the obscure ideals of loyalty and honor will prove its downfall. Still, the Dungeon's sub-par aquatic capabilities and the aversion of many of its creatures from water makes conflicts sparse.

The Wizards are more often than not enemies, as they often compete with the Warlocks for the same magical texts and resources. Conflicts between Dungeon and Academy forces are often describe as a contest to see who has created the better monsters... Indeed, wild rumors claim the Wizards had recently crafted a Construst- called a "Titan"- said to rival the Black Dragon itself in might!

Ah, the Wood Elves... Foolish and bigoted beings, murderers of their own kin (the Dark Elves) and the Dungeon's clearest enemies. When the forests burn and their wives and children become slaves and playthings , they will understand the folly of rejecting the power offered in the Dark Arts.

Dungeon warfare: "Destroy them to the last!"

Dungeon warfare is quick and brutal. On all tiers, their troops possess no clear weaknesses- being amongst the best (if not the best) on their tier, this fact offset by low growth rates and very high price. They usually soften enemy troops with Destructive magic before closing in for the kill, dealing mass damage in very short time in the enemy's ranks- before their precious troops can suffer any significant losses (which are hard to replenish due their low growth rates and sub-par healing). The heart of Dungeon warfare is compared of Troglodyte pikemen, supported by eyeray-shooting Beholders and Dark Elf Stalker skirmishers. Their Elite tier is all about quick offensive power in the Minotaur and Chimera, with the Mistress weakening the enemy. Finally, the Hydra is a devastating melee tank- its only disadvantage being slow speed and no real immunity to magic.

* Military strengths:
Powerful troops, melee offense, magical resistances and immunities, powerful offensive magic
* Military weaknesses:
Expensive troops, low growth rates, weak shooters, only 1 flyer, weak healing and support, spell point reliance

Dark Arts- fills up when magical damage is dealt by your Hero or units. Allows you to empower destructive spells by additional damage, as well as other modifications like resistance-breaching and damage over time.

Core:

Watcher / Beholder

Shooter
No Melee Penalty
Relentless Sight
Cursed Gaze (Upgrade)

Troglodyte / Scarred Troglodyte

Blind Immunity
Pike Attack
Pain Immunity (Upgrade)

Stalker / Kinslayer

Backstab
Hit-and-Run
Venom Blade (Upgrade)
Kinkiller (Upgrade)

Elite:

Chimera / Horrid Chimera

Large Creature
Flyer
Chimeric Attack
Magic Immunity (up to level 2, 3 in upgrade)
Terror (Upgrade)

Minotaur / Minotaur Gladiator

Large Creature
Bravery
Headbutt
Fearless (Upgrade)
Throw Net (Upgrade)

Mistress / Matriarch

Whip Attack (limited range attack with no melee penalty)
Spells
Dark Summoning (Upgrade)

Champion:

Hydra / Abyssal Hydra

Large Creature
No Retaliation
Multi-headed Attack
Regeneration
Acidic Blood (Upgrade)
Armored (Upgrade)

Campaign-only: In the Campaign Alamar's human Dungeon faction gets 2 units instead of existing ones, which are more or less identical to the Dark Elf Dungeon units (which are used in Skirmish and multiplayer). When such a Dungeon is captured by Raelag's forces, you can do a mini-conversion into the corresponding Dark Elf units. In general Stalkers are more powerful than Rogues, while Cabalists are superior to Mistresses.

The units are:

Rogue / Assassin (replaces Stalker/Kinslayer)

Loot
Hit-and-Run
Backstab (Upgrade)
Venom Blade (Upgrade)

Cabalist/Invoker (replaces Mistress/Matriarch- a male human Warlock)

Shooter
Spells (slightly more destruction-oriented than the Mistress' debuffs)
Dark Ritual (Upgrade)

Heroes:

Might Neutral: Overlord
Might Tears: Dragonlord
Might Blood: Blood Tyrant

Magic Neutral: Warlock/Witch (Inferno Magic Hero is renamed Sorcerer)
Magic Tears: Dominator
Magic Blood: Destroyer

The Bosses of-course would be specific Faceless (like the Archangels you fight in Heroes 6), as well as Black Dragon Sons/Daughters of Malassa. BTW- the Dragonlord's ultimate ability is summoning a Red Dragon (a weaker version of the Black Dragon Boss, also fought on the campaign) for 2 rounds!

Spoiler: after Raelag plows through endless legions of underground monsters as well as a gauntlet of Dragons and Alamar himself, it is revealed the whole thing was merely a cruel test set by the Faceless (who encouraged Alamar's descent into megalomaniac madness) for the Dark Elves to prove their mettle and claim their rightful place as Malassa's chosen and masters of the Abyss. At the epilogue, Raelag is seen riding Shadowscar- Alamar's former ally and mount- and leading a flight of Drakes, Chimerae and Dragons and endless black legions on the ground towards the next war against the Wood Elves of Irollan.

[ywhtptgtfo]

I'd be surprised if the devs care about fan input on town design.

[Mozared]

Does that matter?