An Idea

[winterfate]

Nival said that they already knew which factions they were going to be included in the upcoming expansion packs (or something like that). Thus, Hammers of Fate has Dwarves and the next one is supposed to have Nagas (I read that here if I'm not mistaken).

IMO, I think they should make a contest in which each major fan based website creates their dream faction and the winning faction gets added to the heroes V lineup.

I doubt it'll happen but it'd be nice. I have some basic ideas for a new faction already. (If some things I write below look familiar, it's because it's part of the description of my Roads of Doravine map ).

Faction name: Sanctum
Hero title: Sage
Preferred Schools: Dark, Light
Racial: Farsight: The hero gains the ability to cast additional unique adventure map spells based on the level of Farsight. Additionally, Sanctum creatures deal additional damage to opponents who are about to act.

The unique spells are created in the Vault of Oracles (Sanctum building), which requires a Mage Guild I.
The additional damage is 5%/10%/15%/20%. The accumulated total initiative the opponent must have to suffer the added damage is 90%/80%/70%/65%. (Basic/Advanced/Expert/Ultimate).

The unique spells are:
These adventure spells can only be cast once per turn.
Mage Guild II- (requires Basic Farsight) - Visions - Cost: 8 Mana. Like Scouting, however you can also see the enemy hero's skills and abilities (basically you can see him as if he were your own hero).
Mage Guild III- (requires Advanced Farsight, hero level 10) - Hinder - Cost: 12 Mana. Cast on an enemy hero. Reduces that hero's movement by 10% for the turn. Additionally, for each level of Dark Magic your hero possesses it reduces movement by an extra 3%.
Mage Guild IV- (requires Expert Farsight, hero level 15) - Second Wind - Cost: 24 Mana. Cast on self. Hero gains 1% per level to movement until the end of the turn.
Mage Guild V - (requires Ultimate Farsight, hero level 20) - Levitate - Cost: 40 Mana. Identical to Fly (hence, why it requires the ultimate level of the racial).

So, basically, that's all I've thought of for my dream faction. Maybe another day I'll post more things about it (like the creatures and stuff like that).

Feel free to post your opinions . I especially want to know your opinion about the fan contest for the dream faction.

_____________________________________________________________

I made some changes to my Sanctum faction (the only thing I'm still lacking are creatures, but I'll do that eventually ).

From the top once again:

Faction: Sanctum
Hero Title: Sage
Preferred stats: Attack, then Defense
Preferred schools: None (they don't have a mage guild...IMO, they don't need one...you'll see why later on ).
Worship: Aera Kavia the Bird Goddess (some deity of the Wind Dragon basically).
Racial Skill: Farsight - Reduces the effectiveness of enemy spells by reducing the spellpower of opposing heroes/caster units. Additionally, Sanctum units deal additional damage to units who are about to act.

(Basic/Advanced/Expert/Ultimate skill levels of the racial skill)
Enemy spellpower drop: 10%/20%/30%/40%

Added damage to units about to act: 5%/10%/15%/20%
The accumulated total initiative the opponent must have to suffer the added damage is 90%/80%/70%/60%.

Racial Abilities:

Battle Roar: Special combat ability. All units in your army gain 3/6/9/12 Attack for 1 turn per hero level. In addition, Battle Roar adds 1 Attack for each 3 Attack the user hero has.

Projection of Fear: Special combat ability. Reduces enemy morale by 1/1/2/3 and initiative by 10%/20%/30%/40% for 0.5 turns/hero level.

Mental Shield: Your units suffer -1% damage per hero level.

Ultimate:Inhibition:Opposing spellcasters cannot cast spells (in the case of opposing heroes, abilities may still be used).
Requires:Stalling Strike (from Attack), Blessed Blade (from Luck) and Adrenaline Boost (from Logistics).

The Path to the Ultimate :

Racial ------------------------------------Projection of Fear
-----------------------------------------------------I
Attack - Battle Frenzy - Swift Strike - Stalling Strike
------------------------------------------------------I
Logistics - Pathfinding - Pathfinding (+) - Adrenaline Boost

Luck - Soldier's Luck - Eternal Luck - Blessed Blade

Attack Skills:
Swift Strike - When a Sanctum unit attacks an opponent about to act, it (the Sanctum unit) moves up 15% on the ATB bar.
Stalling Strike - When a Sanctum unit attacks an opponent about to act, the opponent moves down 15% on the ATB bar.

Logistics Skills:
Pathfinding (+) - The rough terrain penalty is reduced 100% (in other words, ignored) and the hero's movement is boosted by 10%.
Adrenaline Boost - Units in your army gain 10% to their initiative and 1 to their speed.

Luck Skills:
Eternal Luck - Your unit's luck cannot drop below 0.
Blessed Blade-When one of your units rolls good luck, 50% of the opposing unit's defense is ignored.

That was long . There we go (one of these days I'll get around to the creatures).

Here we go (bear with me please , this is going to be huge!):

Sanctum unique creature abilities:

Wall Destroyer- The creature can choose to attack a segment of the enemy's castle during it's turn (dealing base damage with no attack modifiers).

Focused- The creature's attack statistic cannot be reduced.

Giantslayer- The creature deals an extra 50% damage against tier 6 and 7 units.

Stoneskin- The creature has immunity to effects that affect initiative (like Shield Bash and Slow).

Diamond Armor- Grants the unit a Magic Mirror that works 20% of the time, and the reflect target is alway a foe.

Force Charge- For each square the creature advances, the creature gains 20% on his attack stat, up to a maximum of 100% attack (for 5 squares).

Lightning Strike 10- Deals X Lightning damage to the opposing unit for each unit in the attacking stack (where in this case X equals 10).

Sanctum creatures:

Level 1: Sentry/Sapper- The Sentries are humans that have left the various human empires for many reasons. Sappers are humans that have long been in Sanctum territory and have learned how to undermine defensive fortifications.

Sentry

Attack: 1
Defense: 2
Speed: 5
Initiative: 10
Damage: 1
Hit Points: 6

Enraged

Sapper

Attack: 3
Defense: 2
Speed: 5
Initiative: 10
Damage: 1-2
HP: 9

Level 2: Striker/Slayer: The Strikers (as well as their stronger cousins the Slayers) are a sect of wood elves forsworn to destroy all sources of evil that may exist on Ashan. That quest has led them to the territories of the Sanctum, who they aid unwillingly.

Striker

At: 5
Def: 2
Speed: 7
Init: 11
Dmg: 2-4
HP: 12

Focused

Slayer

At: 6
Def: 3
Speed: 7
Init: 14
Dmg: 2-5
HP: 12

Focused, Giantslayer

Level 3: Kaltyan Witch/Kaltyan Shaman: The Kaltyan are the only original inhabitants of the Sanctum faction. They are half-lizard, half-bird and it is rumored that they are the nephews and nieces of the Bird Goddess herself. The witches and shaman of Kaltyan-kind are the only true spellcasters in the whole Sanctum (as not even the Sages themselves cast spells, but on very limited occasions).

Kaltyan Witch

At: 8
Def: 6
Speed: 4
Init: 10
Dmg: 3-5
HP: 17
Shots: 4
Mana: 22

Caster: Righteous Might (at Advanced), Cleansing (at Expert)
Shooter

Kaltyan Shaman

At: 8
Def: 8
Speed: 4
Init: 10
Dmg: 5
HP: 20
Shots: 6
Mana: 32

Caster: Righteous Might, Cleansing and Mass Cleansing (at Expert)
Shooter
No Melee Penalty

Level 4: Crystal Beast/Diamond Beast: These beasts, formed out of pure minerals, most resemble armadillos and have thick hides that protect them from harm. They are the mainstay of most Sanctum armies for their staying power.

Crystal Beast

At: 10
Def: 15
Speed: 4
Init: 8
Dmg: 8-16
HP: 50

Large Creature

Diamond Beast

At: 10
Def: 20
Speed: 4
Init: 9
Dmg: 12-18
HP: 80

Stoneskin
Large Creature
Diamond Armor

Level 5: Kaltyan Lancer/Kaltyan Warden: The other soldier of the Kaltyan race, the Lancers and Wardens have trained ardously, regaining the use of their vestigial wings. They are a force to be reckoned with as they are extremely fast and strong.

Kaltyan Lancer

At: 15
Def: 12
Speed: 7
Init: 13
Dmg: 10-20
HP: 75

Flyer
Focused

Kaltyan Warden

At: 18
Def: 13
Speed: 8
Init: 16
Dmg: 12-22
HP: 90

Flyer
Focused
Force Charge

Level 6: Wyvern / Wyvern Rider: The ancient wyverns, distant cousins of the Bird Goddess, serve an eternal oath to protect those who, in a long forgotten past, protected them from harm.

Wyvern

At: 21
Def: 18
Speed: 6
Init: 10
Dmg: 15-25
HP: 90

Poison 4 (4 Poison damage per wyvern in stack)
Flyer
Large Creature

Wyvern Rider

At: 24
Def: 20
Speed: 6
Init: 10
Dmg: 20-25
HP: 120

Poison 4
Flyer
Large Creature
Focused

Level 7: Roc/ Thunderbird: The children of the Bird Goddess, Rocs and Thunderbirds are the strongest inhabitants of the Sanctum faction. Thunderbirds can even summon lightning to aid their attacks.

Roc

At: 25
Def: 20
Speed: 6
Init: 10
Dmg: 25-30
HP: 130

Flyer
Large Creature

Thunderbird

At: 30
Def: 25
Speed: 7
Init: 15
Dmg: 30
HP: 160

Flyer
Large Creature
Lightning Strike 10 (Each Thunderbird deals 10 extra lightning damage to the opposing unit; this is on top of base damage).

That was humongous. Enjoy! I put a lot of effort into this, so please tell me what you think !

EDIT: Slightly weakened the Level 4 tier of units. Changed Carbon to Crystal (thanks to ThunderTitan for that idea ).

[Mytical]

I love the idea of the contest, but I honestly would be hard pressed for my dream faction. Probably my Werewolf faction..but I will decide and get back to this later. I have posted dozens (none I think totally complete so I will have to complete my favorite) in this and the campfire forum so it may take me a bit to decide.

For me it came down to my Werewolf (I like werewolves) or monk faction. It was a rough decision for me but I finally decided on the werewolf faction. The only thing is, I would miss the life (not light) magics of my monks. If you would like to see the orignals I can put up links here (one has been buried but the new ones hasn't).

Here is what I have for them (the ultimate needs work though). And so does the skills.

Heroes-Werewolfs. Primary Stat Knowledge, Secondary Stat Attack. Can be of any former allience or 'race', but must have Lycanthropy. Only have a few heroes currently but here they are (again no starting stats as I need to tweak that).

Spy/Mimic. Trained to blend into any environment they are not fit for combat usually. The Spy can go undetected on the 'map' unless a heroes abilities counters it 1x per combat they can 'blend in' to the background and until they move they can not be targeted. The Mimic has taken this one step farther. They have the singular ability to pose as any unit on the field, at least in appearance. At the start of combat they take on a random units appearence and to an enemy even show the stats, ect of that unit. However it is all a guise, and as soon as hit they reveal there true nature. They can still blend in 1 x a combat. The unit they mimic will be a higher tier from either side, but only units in the battlefield are options for them.

Wolves, Combat Wolves. The nice 2 attack is back, but since they are tier two they are somewhat weaker now.

Lycanthropes/Werwolves- The rank and file werewolves that just have not yet been able to attain 'hero' status. (Werewolves have claw attacks that cause wounds not to close, so the target of there attack 'bleed' for 1 extra turn for 1/4 original damage). (Werewolvs have add no enemy retaliation for the fiercnes of there attack). Both are so nimble that ranged units have hard time targeting them (Wolves take 10% less damage from range, and Wolvs 25%).

Pathfinders/Waymakers. These beings serve a special function in the Wolvagen army. Not only do they cross battlefields with amazing speed, but they actually aid in non-combat also. The Pathfinders add 10% distance to what a hero can travel. Waymakers add 25%.


Duskflyers/Nightflyers - Some wolvagen elect to be 'experimented' on in hopes that a cure can be found for Lycanthropy. During one of these experiments the Duskflyers/Nightflyers were formed. No longer able to assume human form they have bat-like wings on there back. The Duskflyers are greyish in color. They have flight, regen, and a 'swoop' attack that can cause fear (unlike griffens they don't leave the battle to do this) sadly they take some damage for this attack (roughly 10%) so don't use it often. Nightflyers have jet black fur, and red firey eyes. They have a constant chance to cause fear, and there swoop attack does an addition 25% damage.

Spiritcallers/Soulguiders. Being shamanistic in nature, the Wolvagen have developed into powerful 'magic-using' beings. There power comes from the spirits. The spiritcallers are initiates and thus still learning. They can cast the spells-raise dead, and cleanse, as well as Eldritch Bolt and Summon Elemental. They have 30 mana. The soulguiders are much more adept and can cast Ressurection they have 40 mana. Unlike most spell casters however, they are hardy creatures and gain Unlimited retaliation.

Forlorn/Dark Forlorn. These behemoths are wolvagen who have (during the same experiments that created the flyers) sadly lost most of there 'humanity'. Now unable to transform into human, these giant creatures wear huge chains on there hands and feet. They are slow, but enormously strong and tough. There toughened hides reduce most damage by 10%(25% for Dark), and they do an area effect attack (2x2) do to there massive hands.

New skills. There ultimate skill is "Unleashed Beast" which adds 6 to attack and all units gain +1 to damage. (Note all the skills needed to get this include the new 'skills' in the areas noted). Attack, Destruction Magic, War_Machines, Leadership.

Special Racial 'Call of the wild' Increases chance that neutral stacks will join. Basic-+10%, Advance +20%, Expert +25%, Master- reduce cost for all.

For other skills only putting 'special' here. You know the general ones.

In leadership there is Pack - Lowest possible morale is 0, can not go to negative Morale.

In Luck they use Spoils and Dead Man's Luck.

In Defense they use Resistance and Stand your ground.

In attack they use Claw- Incrase damage 10%, and Bite - add stun to attack (slows IB by 30% until next attack).

Sorcery -Arcane Brill

Summon - Wild summon - Causes enemy summons to loose 20% strength and elementals summoned are opposite of what they should be. (this because I could not think of anything else).

Destruction- Shaman's Gift- Add Lightning to attack. If lightning spells stun, attack has a 10% chance of doing same.

Dark Magic-Seal of Darkness.

Light- refined Mana.

War_Machine- Sprit Enhancement...all War_machines take 25% less damage and do 25% more damage (or heal 25% more for tents).

Enlightenment- Arcane Exalt-and Wizards Renewal

Logistics-Loping (again bad speller here)..adds 10% additional percent to speed over land.

[Campaigner]

Winterfate: Are you aware of the contest that was held about half a year ago where fans were to create their own town..?

I can say as much that the winning results were abysmal....but it was some computer game magazine or something that selected the winners (seemed too tastless even for Nival).

[Akul]

To Campaigner:
Aren't the bribes wonderful?

[DaemianLucifer]

Considering how the last "contest went",I doubt I want to see another.As for the town idea,it is nice,but dont you think HV is already too much magic oriented?

[Mytical]

Long live the more might faction of the Werewolves lol (j/k) that is one of the reasons I didn't go with the Monks in the end. True the werewolves have huge obsticles to overcome (few flying/casting/ranged), but they are super tough and that may balance out in the end .

[Mightor Magic]

I'll give it a try.

Beastmasters: Mercenary faction whose services are avialible for the highest bidder. Special ability: Whip {Cruel, I know}: Trade half the stacks HPs for a massive increase in Speed and Iniative. Advanced lowers it to a third and Expert reduces to a quarter.

Faction skills:

Cattle rustler: Take one stack of the enemies animal units for one round. Dragons included? I don't know.

Mark of the Beast: Works on your own creatures, offers double retlaition against all attackers and one attack against creatures with no retaliation. Also works when you attack.

Call of the Wild: Increases Attack, Defense and Speed of all units by One.

Faction specialy: Might but almost nil for magic.

Basic Units {Creatures from previous M and M games mostly}:

Spiders {poison}
Bats, Flying {lowers enemy speed}
Wolves {double attack, low stats tho}
Basiliks {stone effect}
Gorgons {death effect}
Wyverns, Flying and Ranged {decreases hps to half, 20%}
Behemoths, multiple attack swipe {Kills half the enemy stack, 10%}

Stats to be determind. And yes, I liked the swamp units from Heroes 3.
Well?

[Angelspit]

Winterfate: Are you aware of the contest that was held about half a year ago where fans were to create their own town..?

To think that a fan site spent hours translating all those entries to Russian...

[Mirez]

just add orc's and naga's
orc's are allready in the history
and make orc's all might no mage guild 4!!

[erased. over. out]

just add orc's and naga's
orc's are allready in the history
and make orc's all might no mage guild 4!!

Amen to that! We could really use a more might-oriented faction in the game, right about now.

[winterfate]

Mytical: Nice faction design! Pretty original too, with a lot of interesting abilities .(unlike Nival's 6 dwarf Fortress that had nice abilities but an overdose of dwarf ).

Campaigner: Actually I was aware of the contest. But, who won? (was it THAT bad?)

DaemianLucifer: .....I guess you're right (I'll think of ways to orient my Sanctum into a Might tour-de-force ).

Mightor Magic: Interesting . The racial ability is cool, IMO, and even though the lineup is from 3, that doesn't mean it's bad, i think it combines many status effects so it's all good (but please, those Behemoths are haha. I get goosebumps when I fight Death Knights because of that).

Angelspit: That's why Nival should be lynched . But again I ask, who won? (was it REALLY THAT bad?).

haloswift wrote:
just add orc's and naga's
orc's are allready in the history
and make orc's all might no mage guild 4!!

erased.over.out wrote:
Amen to that! We could really use a more might-oriented faction in the game, right about now.

Haloswift, erased.over.out: That would evoke the good old days of Heroes 3 and 4, but I get the nasty feeling Nival's not going to approve, because of "balance issues" (I can imagine the argument; "it would unbalance the game, everyone else with a level 5 Mage Guild and the new faction with a level 3 guild.") Pfah, and the Necromancer's resource costs are through the roof and some of it's units too weak compared to other factions, isn't that unbalanced too? I personally support the "uber"-might faction (might faction that uses little to no magic to achieve victory) because it's different and different is not always bad .

[DaemianLucifer]

Angelspit: That's why Nival should be lynched . But again I ask, who won? (was it REALLY THAT bad?).

Yes it was.Ill try to get the link soon.

Here and here you can see for yourself how bad it really was.

[okrane]

I propose we make a tread where everyone can praise and thank Nival for the wonderful game they made... just like the praise thread in campfire, but I believe Nival deserves a thread of its own...

Oh... and there should be warning saying that it may have adult content

[DaemianLucifer]

Sorry,but we already had a couple of threads like that

[winterfate]

Daemian Lucifer: Saw the links...ugh...that's not bad...that's terrible.

[Campaigner]

To Campaigner:
Aren't the bribes wonderful?

What do you mean?

[Elvin]

I believe he was referring on the winner selection

[Mirez]

brought to you more clearly:
first mage guild = bloodlust and rightionous might (<-= or whatever that's why I call it RM)
second mage guild = area bloodlust and RM
third mage guild = mass bloodlust and RM

and you don't need basic light magic or whatever to learn them, just a level limit:
to learn spells from second mage guild level 5
to learn spells form third mage guild level 10

something like that

[DaemianLucifer]

Say wha??? Could you please say it more clearly?

[ThunderTitan]

Oh look, a town contest... *knifes out his own eyes* yeah, they can choose the winners now.