Race and Town Creation Contest - Please tell me your ideas

[Jimmpi]

My town's (that i really hope will be in an expansion):

Dwaven town:
lvl 1 Gnome/Gnome archer.
lvl 2 Boar/ Boar Rider
lvl 3 War Dwarf/ Berserker
lvl 4 Ice Hawk/ Frost Falcon or pegasus/silver pegasus..
lvl 5 Red dragon/ Crystal Dragon
lvl 6 Dwarven Lord/ Dwarven Warlord
lvl 7 Giant/ Frost Giant

Stronghold:
lvl 1 Goblin/Hobgoblin
lvl 2 Orc/Orc Berzerker
lvl 3 Wolf Rider/Warg Raider
lvl 4 Ogre/Ogre Shaman (Ogre Magi)
lvl 5 Roc/Thunderbird
lvl 6 Behemoth/Ancient Behemoth
lvl 7 Cyclops/Mountain Cyclops

[Cunning Death]

Here's my castle:

Stronghold
I think this one will be introduced in the expansion because on the world map, you can see tribe-tents or something...
Abilities in brackets.

Tier 1 - Goblin (none)-Hobgoblin (fearless, enraged)
Tier 2 - Harpy (strike-return)-Harpy Queen (strike return,no enemy retal)
Tier 3 - Nomad (large creature,none)-Nomad Lord (large creature,charge)
Tier 4 - Orc (no enemy retal,fearless)-Chieftan (ranged,no melee penalty,fearless)
Tier 5 - Troll (regeneration)-Troll (regeneration, caster*bloodlust-morale +1, attack +3, defense +2)
Tier 6 - Cyclops (ranged, can attack castle walls, immune to mind spells)-Cyclops King(ranged ,leader*nearby creatures gain +1 morale, +1 luck* ,can attack castle walls, 3x3 area of attack)
Tier 7 - Behemoth(large creature, bravery)-Ancient Behemoth(large creature, bravery, 10% chance of deadly strike)

Kinda like the H3 Stronghold...

Harpy? they've been transformed into blood ....-s (maiden/fury)
orcs and troll would be welcome back on my screen

[ThunderTitan]

I meant something advanced like rifles.Gunpowder in barrels used as a bomb isnt hi tech,but a bullet proppeled at high speeds through a pipe is.

Right. Now care to tell me when exactly rifles and cannons appeared?

Oh, look 11th century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon

Around 11th century, the Chinese of the Song Dynasty began to load gunpowder in the middle of thick bamboo as a projection firearm. With improvement, they replaced the bamboo with bronze, which made this early cannon - known as the Huochong - more reliable and powerful. During wartime, the Chinese used them heavily in defence against the Mongols. Afterward, the Mongols further improved upon the qualities of the Huochong, making it more deadly.

Heck, most of the armours used in fantasy games didn't even exist back then.

[DaemianLucifer]

And youve seen bamboo where in heroes?

[Genesis]

BASTION

Motto: “The earth provides all.”

• Aka: The Dwarves
• Associated colors: Grey, gold and silver
• Worship: Sylanna, the Dragon of Earth
• Core philosophy: “Aeons pass, forests burn, rivers run dry; but the earth will always remain - solid and unchanging.”
• Country / kingdom: Ranaar
• Capital city: Stonehelm, the Great Deeps
• Key symbols: Hammer, axe, Old Futhark runes.


General gist: Basically what I'm trying to achieve with the following list is a characterful army of barbaric, stubborn little axe-wielding maniacs. I'm trying to get away from Tolkein Dwarves ("my mother had a beard"), Warcraft Dwarves ("my mother had a sniper rifle") and Warhammer Dwarves ("my mother had her bra forged by runesmiths") - essentially, the notion that all Dwarves are slow, totally honourable little men obsessed with beer, forges and beards. Essentially, I'm leaning towards Nordic culture without looking too hard at the Dwarven area of the mythology. So I've added in other Norse creatures and brought back some old favourites from other games which fit in well with a cold, mountainous environment...


- Creatures

Tier 1 - Troglodyte Serf/Troglodyte Thrall
Dwelling: Troglodyte Warren
Reasoning: Trogs are an underground race, as are the Dwarves. Seeing as they are also a weak race often confined to servitude, it would make sense for the Troglodytes to fulfil a slave cannon-fodder race function (especially seeing as Dwarves are too funky to have as a measly level 1 race). Also, it distances Heroes 5 from Warcraft and Gnomes because, to be honest, Gnomes and Dwarves seems to be a bit of an overused alliance. Maybe Gnomes would be good as neutrals.
Suggested Ability: Immune to 'Blind'.

Tier 2 - Dwarf Hammerer/Dwarf Thunderer
Dwelling: Longhouse
Reason: It would be nice to see hammer(axe?)-throwing Dwarves somewhere.
Suggested Ability: Fights in combat without penalty.

Tier 3 - Cliff Harpy/Harpy Matriarch
Dwelling: Cliff Nest
Reason: Something to contast with with the butch, masculine Dwarves. If we want a more 'crazy bearded barbarian' tone to a Dwarven army, these ladies (or even harpy men?) certainly provide the 'eye-clawing' element. Anyway, they need a home somewhere and they appear to make their home in cliffs and caves - precisely where the Dwarves live. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Suggested Abilities: Fly / hit-and-run.

Tier 4 - Centaur/Centaur Captain
Dwelling: Centaur Stables
Reason: I've always liked the Centaur from the Narnia perspective and, though the last Narnia film was crap, I liked that Centaur commander. The Centaur worked well with the Dwarves in the Rampart town in Heroes 3, and it would be nice to see them work together again, albeit in a chillier climate. I'd rather see them with the Dwarves than the Orcs in any case.
Suggested Abilities: Large creature / something to do with trampling down foes?

Tier 5 - Dwarf Einheriar/Dwarf Thane
Dwelling: Hall of the Slain
Reason: I'm not sure whether I like your Weapon- or Rune-masters idea (especially due to your inclusion of another spell casting dwarf unit), so I've decided to put in the Einheriar - literally, in Old Norse, 'one man army'. Obviously, that's not the intention, but I've always fancied the Dwarves as extremely hard-hitting combat fighters and your list seems to lack Dwarves made for that purpose.
Suggested Abilities: Possibly a spellbook containing very combat-orientated spells.

Tier 6 - Valkyrie Maiden/Valkyrie Disir
Dwelling: Shrine of the Winds
Reason: Pretty much just a breast of fresh ass... sorry, breath of fresh air for a predominantly male (and VERY masculine) army. It would be a nice way to add those Pegasi back into the game as well as giving a flying creature to an army very firmly attatched to the ground. As a nice twist (as well as adhering to the Dwarven theme), the Valkyries themselves could be female DWARVES.
Suggested Abilities: Fly / Spellbook (Healing?)

Tier 7 - Behemoth/Ancient Behemoth
Dwelling: Behemoth Crag
Reason: I always wandered why an extremely furry creature lived in the desert in previous games. What makes the Behemoth especially viable in the Dwarven Town is the presence of Grendel in the old Beowulf saga - big, monstrous and hairy. I'm sure he'll fit right in.
Suggested Abilities: Something interesting to do with those enormous claws.

[DaemianLucifer]

General gist: Basically what I'm trying to achieve with the following list is a characterful army of barbaric, stubborn little axe-wielding maniacs. I'm trying to get away from Tolkein Dwarves ("my mother had a beard"), Warcraft Dwarves ("my mother had a sniper rifle") and Warhammer Dwarves ("my mother had her bra forged by runesmiths") - essentially, the notion that all Dwarves are slow, totally honourable little men obsessed with beer, forges and beards. Essentially, I'm leaning towards Nordic culture without looking too hard at the Dwarven area of the mythology. So I've added in other Norse creatures and brought back some old favourites from other games which fit in well with a cold, mountainous environment...

Cant hurt.Lets see.

Tier 1 - Troglodyte Serf/Troglodyte Thrall
Reasoning: Trogs are an underground race, as are the Dwarves. Seeing as they are also a weak race often confined to servitude, it would make sense for the Troglodytes to fulfil a slave cannon-fodder race function (especially seeing as Dwarves are too funky to have as a measly level 1 race). Also, it distances Heroes 5 from Warcraft and Gnomes because, to be honest, Gnomes and Dwarves seems to be a bit of an overused alliance. Maybe Gnomes would be good as neutrals.
Suggested Ability: Immune to 'Blind'.

I like this one.Breaks a lot of stereotypes.And makes a lot of sense.

Tier 2 - Dwarf Hammerer/Dwarf Thunderer
Reason: It would be nice to see hammer(axe?)-throwing Dwarves somewhere.
Suggested Ability: Fights in combat without penalty.

If you meant to be completely original,Im sorry to disappoint you,but spellforce has exactly this.Its good though.Very good.Maybe an assasin style(average range attack,but devastating melee)would be better.

Tier 3 - Cliff Harpy/Harpy Matriarch
Reason: Something to contast with with the butch, masculine Dwarves. If we want a more 'crazy bearded barbarian' tone to a Dwarven army, these ladies (or even harpy men?) certainly provide the 'eye-clawing' element. Anyway, they need a home somewhere and they appear to make their home in cliffs and caves - precisely where the Dwarves live. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Suggested Abilities: Fly / hit-and-run.

Harpies dont strike me as a dwarven ally.Especially now that we have blood maidens.

Tier 4 - Centaur/Centaur Captain
Reason: I've always liked the Centaur from the Narnia perspective and, though the last Narnia film was crap, I liked that Centaur commander. The Centaur worked well with the Dwarves in the Rampart town in Heroes 3, and it would be nice to see them work together again, albeit in a chillier climate. I'd rather see them with the Dwarves than the Orcs in any case.
Suggested Abilities: Large creature / something to do with trampling down foes?

Centaurs strike me more as outdoors creature.Although I can see them in mountains.But maybe satires are better suited for this role(there are mountain goats,but no mountain horses)

Tier 5 - Dwarf Einheriar/Dwarf Thane
Reason: I'm not sure whether I like your Weapon- or Rune-masters idea (especially due to your inclusion of another spell casting dwarf unit), so I've decided to put in the Einheriar - literally, in Old Norse, 'one man army'. Obviously, that's not the intention, but I've always fancied the Dwarves as extremely hard-hitting combat fighters and your list seems to lack Dwarves made for that purpose.
Suggested Abilities: Possibly a spellbook containing very combat-orientated spells.

Yes a one dwarf army is what everyone expects to see mid high in the dwarven lineup

Tier 6 - Valkyrie Maiden/Valkyrie Disir
Reason: Pretty much just a breast of fresh ass... sorry, breath of fresh air for a predominantly male (and VERY masculine) army. It would be a nice way to add those Pegasi back into the game as well as giving a flying creature to an army very firmly attatched to the ground. As a nice twist (as well as adhering to the Dwarven theme), the Valkyries themselves could be female DWARVES.
Suggested Abilities: Fly / Spellbook (Healing?)

Hmm...A female dwarf as a valkyre...Original I must say.Could work,but it needs a bit of working.I like it.

Tier 7 - Behemoth/Ancient Behemoth
Reason: I always wandered why an extremely furry creature lived in the desert in previous games. What makes the Behemoth especially viable in the Dwarven Town is the presence of Grendel in the old Beowulf saga - big, monstrous and hairy. I'm sure he'll fit right in.
Suggested Abilities: Something interesting to do with those enormous claws.

About the special ability:terror+lower defence sounds like a thing for behemot.

Overall its a very nice lineup,and Id like to see something like that for a dwarven town.Especially because of some very nice original ideas.

[Jimmpi]

Hmm, that would be a mixed stronghold/dwarvens...In my eyes they sould be separated and be 2 towns...More fun if you have more to choose,,

[DaemianLucifer]

Hmm, that would be a mixed stronghold/dwarvens...In my eyes they sould be separated and be 2 towns...More fun if you have more to choose,,

Considering that the second town probably will be a naga town,this is quite a nice mix.

[ThunderTitan]

And youve seen bamboo where in heroes?

They already have bronze, and probably alot harder to work on metals already.

The high tech for gunpowder weapons came from the bullets having the gunpowder included, not from the good ol' boom-stick itself. If you can make a sword you can make a bloody metal pipe. Insert "magic-exploding-powder" and a piece of round rock/metal and there you go.


And the Blood Maidens existance doesn't mean that the Harpy can't be in the game, just that it needs a new special. Maybe Swoop Attack (the Harpy lands a few squares away from it's target, damaging any creature directly behind/around the original target)

[DaemianLucifer]

The high tech for gunpowder weapons came from the bullets having the gunpowder included, not from the good ol' boom-stick itself. If you can make a sword you can make a bloody metal pipe. Insert "magic-exploding-powder" and a piece of round rock/metal and there you go.

There is a big diference because you forge a sword,but you cast a cannon.Its completely different process(and more complicated one).But we already have trebuchets instead of catapults.Thats high tech enough.And high tech actually came from the...damn,I forgot the word...Those things inside the barel that speed up the bullet.

And the Blood Maidens existance doesn't mean that the Harpy can't be in the game, just that it needs a new special. Maybe Swoop Attack (the Harpy lands a few squares away from it's target, damaging any creature directly behind/around the original target)

Yes,that would be a nice specialty for harpies.But I still dont see them with dwarves.

[Jimmpi]

Considering that the second town probably will be a naga town,this is quite a nice mix.

Aha..I didn't know that..I apologize.
In that case it could be a good mix..but i love cyclops..
And I can always drean cant I that they will do 3 new towns
¤Naga based
¤Dwarves
¤Stronghold..


That would be a dream!

But seriously, they could do it..That would make it 9 towns..The same numbers as in Heroes III..I loved that there where soo many to choose from..

[ThunderTitan]

There is a big diference because you forge a sword,but you cast a cannon.Its completely different process(and more complicated one).But we already have trebuchets instead of catapults.Thats high tech enough.And high tech actually came from the...damn,I forgot the word...Those things inside the barels that speed up the bullet.

Weapon forging wasn't exactly a static craft. Ever heard of Damascus Steel? And how much harder could it be to make a lead pipe for a handcannon if you could use bamboo for it. Boom-sticks aren't exactly the high-tech you think. (Disciples 2 for example had a Dwarf with a really rudimentary looking boom-stick).

Now HoMM Dwarves do look better with hammers and the like, but don't confuse using gunpowder with high-tech.

[DaemianLucifer]

Weapon forging wasn't exactly a static craft. Ever heard of Damascus Steel? And how much harder could it be to make a lead pipe for a handcannon if you could use bamboo for it. Boom-sticks aren't exactly the high-tech you think. (Disciples 2 for example had a Dwarf with a really rudimentary looking boom-stick).

Now HoMM Dwarves do look better with hammers and the like, but don't confuse using gunpowder with high-tech.

Boom-sticks arent all that useful.Weak,unprecise and dangerous(bronze cannons could explode).It was somwhere around 15th century when the cannons became widespread(not counting china,of course).So let me rephrase myself:effective cannons and rifles are high tech.Better?

[ThunderTitan]

I'm sure that a culture that can make Unicorn shoulder-pads and has access to way stronger metals then bronze shouldn't have a problem with that.

And the 15th century was still the middle ages.

And anyway that shouldn't really be a problem in a game. If a Pixie can hurt someone in armour by using magic-dust a musket can be accurate enough (lets not even get into the accuracy of other weapons used in the game).

[DaemianLucifer]

Lets just say that gunpowder doesnt burn in heroes,like in amber

[Genesis]

If you meant to be completely original,Im sorry to disappoint you,but spellforce has exactly this.Its good though.Very good.Maybe an assasin style(average range attack,but devastating melee)would be better.

Well, it's hard to be original with low tier Dwarves - I was expecting that hammer-throwers had been done anyway. Still, they can be made original in the presentation.

Harpies dont strike me as a dwarven ally.Especially now that we have blood maidens.

This was one of the ones I debated over for a while. I essentially just added it as filler (I don't like those Blood Maidens anyway).

Centaurs strike me more as outdoors creature.Although I can see them in mountains.But maybe satires are better suited for this role(there are mountain goats,but no mountain horses)

My vision of the Dwarven town would be similar to the old Tower one - outdoors. We've already got the Inferno and Dungeon for underground towns, and I thought it would be a shame to miss out on all that snow. Basically, I envisioned it to be an outdoors Inferno - you spin around a central mountain into which is built the Dwarven town (with, of course, the correct mountain scenery).

The Centaur, I guess, were just another filler creature I thought would fit rather nicely as a cavalry unit. Anyway, there are mountain horses: mules are commonly used mountain travellers. Let's put it this way - would you rather have a cavalier who has full control of his body, no matter the environment, or two seperate creatures, one of which is a goat?

Yes a one dwarf army is what everyone expects to see mid high in the dwarven lineup

Without them, it simply wouldn't be a Dwarven army.

Hmm...A female dwarf as a valkyre...Original I must say.Could work,but it needs a bit of working.I like it.

You're bang on right about the 'could work'. It needs exactly the right style and spin or you'll end up with one of those opera sopranos.

About the special ability:terror+lower defence sounds like a thing for behemot.

Overall its a very nice lineup,and Id like to see something like that for a dwarven town.Especially because of some very nice original ideas.

[innokenti]

You're bang on right about the 'could work'. It needs exactly the right style and spin or you'll end up with one of those opera sopranos.

Reminds me of the icon in Heroes 2 for when you had opera enabled with the music. Nothing wrong with one of those!

[soupnazii]

i wasnt really following the thread, but since this is meant for proposals...

not exactly new factions but different old ones. probably a wild H6 idea. dont feel like explaining right now, so see if you can figure out the upgrade system yourself.



Haven – Human, medieval

1 Peasant
1+ Militia
1++a Pikeman (High defense, average attack)
1++b Swordsman (Average defense, high attack)

2 Slinger (Archer?)
2+ Archer (Marksman?)
2++a Crossbowman (High damage, increased range penalty)
2++b Sharpshooter (Average damage, no range penalty)

3 Knight
3+ Sergeant (Better name??)
3++a Swordsmaster (Low damage, high defense, slow, double attack)
3++b Infiltrator (High damage, low defense, fast, unlimited retaliation)

4 Cavalier
4+ Hero
4++a Imperial Guard (High damage, average defense, magic resistant)
4++b Paladin (Low damage, high defense, casts beneficial spells)

5 Wild Gryphon
5+ Battle Gryphon
5++a Imperial Gryphon (High attack, very high defense)
5++b Mounted Gryphon (Average attack, average defense, fast, battle dive ability, ranged {no melee penalty})

6 Priest
6+ Zealot
6++a Monk (average damage, low defense, fast, casts beneficial spells)
6++b Inquisitor (Average damage, average defense, slow, casts harmful spells)

7 Spirit
7+ Angel
7++a Archangel (High attack, high defense, casts harmful spells)
7++b Guardian Angel (Average attack, very high defense, casts beneficial spells, resurrect once per battle)








Inferno – Devil-worship, underground, fire, lava

1 Doomed Soul
1+ Imp
1++a Familiar (High attack, low defense)
1++b Evil Spirit (Low attack, average defense, mana stealer)

2 Demon
2+ Horned Demon
2++a Armed Demon (Average attack, very high defense)
2++b Wild Demon (High attack, high defense, kills one creature from any stack automatically)

3 Gog
3+ Magog
3++a Magog King (High attack, average defense, fire shield)
3++b Magog Shaman (Average attack, high defense, ranged attack, casts harmful spells)

4 Succubus
4+ Succubus Mistress
4++a Succubus Queen (Average attack, high defense, chain fire bolt {enemies only})
4++b Succubus Sniper (Very high attack, average defense, no range penalty, kills one creature from any stack automatically)

5 Hell Stallion
5+ Nightmare
5++a Mounted Nightmare (High attack, average defense, fast, magic resistant)
5++b War Nightmare (High attack, high defense, slow, fear effect {lowers adjacent enemy moral})

6 Overseer
6+ Armed Overseer
6++a Soldier Overseer (High attack, very high defense, lowers enemy defense)
6++b Tormentor (Very high attack, average defense, cast weakness on enemy when attacking)

7 Hellmaster
7+ Balor
7++a Devil (Very high attack, average defense, fear effect, teleport anywhere on battlefield, summon Gogs equal to twice amount of devils once per combat)
7++b Spirit Manipulator (Average attack, high defense, hypnotize one enemy stack for one round twice per battle, resurrect fallen creatures as no more than twice amount of manipulators in demons {enemy casualties: half amount of experience point in demons, friendly casualties: equal amount of XP in demons})


some of the names took a really long time to think up.

[Cunning Death]

I guess you meat two upgrades for every unit, where the second upgrade must be choosen carefully by the wise player. That wouldn't be a bad idea at first glimpse

[asandir]

jeeps ..... looks like quite a lot of thought went into some of these ideas!!