posted 04-01-04 01:36 PM EDT (US)
Overview
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How will the Japanese be different than the other 4 Civs? Here is a quick summary of this Civ's strengths and weaknesses.
Major Strengths:
1. Japan's Fishing ships are noticibly better than those of other Civs, making water control a meaningful temptation.
2. Japan's Archers are top notch.
3. Japanese infantry is very formidible.
Weaknesses:
1. Although Fishing ships are very good, the Japanese navy isn't exceptional
2. Japan had little access to stone, meaning that their buildings and walls aren't nearly as strong as those of the Greeks or Egyptians.
3. Japan has good light-Calvary, but no heavy-Calvary unit.
4. Japan's Siege is also lackluster.
Unique buildings
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Onsen: The Onsen is a Japanese hot spring used to slowly heal injured units. It is very useful, but expensive to build.
Monastary: Unlike the pagoda temple, which is used to train MU's, the Monastary is a unique building designed to accomadate monks.
Barraks: The Japanese Rax building is used to train the lower-class units availible in classical, Daikyu bowmen, Ashigiru, and Bushi.
Castle: The Castle is where the aristocratic warriors of Japan reside, the Samurai swordsman, Mounted Archer, and Samurai Horseman.
Engineers Camp: This fairly inexpensive building is used to produce the less the impressive siege units.
Units
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Monks: Monks are a unique unit with many roles. Japan's Monks are heroes, but not warriors. Instead, their first role is to pray in their monastaries for favor. Monks do not accumulate favor quickly, but the process can be accelerated with the help of Warrior heroes, as described below. Against MU's, Monks do little damage, but can use a special stun attack to aid human units and warrior heroes. Worshipers of Ida-ten in the Mythic Age have the oppourtunity to upgrade their monks, making them more versatile and useful.
Ninja: Credit goes to Spectre for his Ninja, below
The Japanese Scout is the Spy. The Spy is a slow moving unit invisible to all units except scouts and heroes. He has the LOS of a priest when stationary and moving. The Spy can garrison in ANY building except Town Centres to rapidly increase his LOS. For example, if you want information on the enemies gold mining, just put a Spy in the Stockroom and you will gain LOS of the area around the gold mine.
The Spy is not targetable by building fire (if unspotted), so he can sneak into enemy bases. Walls are also traversed by the Spy. The only way to catch a Spy is to garrison inside the building or repair it (in the case of Non-Garrison buildings). The Spy has the following stats:
---Stats---
75HP
10% Hack Armour
10% Pierce Armour
99% Crush Armour
0 Hack Attack
0 Pierce Attack
0 Crush Attack
4.0 Speed
Special Attack: Stun Attack. Oranos' Shockwave attack on 1 human unit. Recharges in 5 seconds.
Other Notes: Invisible to all units except Heroes and Scouts (Only Odin can see Spy without Hersir, Ravens). The Spy is uneffected by Armoury Improvements
---Upgrades---
-Untitled Archaic Upgrade
Ninja HP +100%
-Untitled God Specific Upgrade 1 (Heroic Age) Upgrades spy to Ninja.
Converts the Stun attack into an Instant Kill attack. When the Instant Kill is initiated, the Ninja becomes visible to all units until it exits enemy LOS. Recharge time is doubled.
-Untitled God Specific Upgrade 2 (Heroic Age)
Ninja Hack and Pierce Armour +300%
---Fully Upgraded Stats---
150HP
40% Hack Armour
40% Pierce Armour
0 Hack Attack
0 Pierce Attack
0 Crush Attack
5.5 Speed
Special Attack: Instant Kill on any human unit. Recharges in 10 seconds
Other Notes: Invisible to all units except Heroes and Scouts. Becomes visible to all once Instant Kill is performed. Uneffected by armoury improvements.
Samurai Swordmaster: The Samurai is an elite heroic age unit trained in the Castle. The samurai is powerful against infantry and Calvary(although beaten by hard counters, like axemen) but is vulnerable to archers. Additionally, Samurai who score enough skills in battle can be upgraded to heroes. As heroes, they are vital in combating MU's effectively, but can also return to monastaries to gather greater favor from the Gods.
Daikyu Bowman: The Japanese longbow man is availible in classical, and the backbone of the army in any age.
Samurai Archer: A fast but lightly armored archer, this heroic age unit is a useful harasser and supliment to the Daikyu Bowman.
Samurai Horseman: This light Calvary unit armed with a spear is useful against archers, but cannot stand up to infantry.
Ashigiru: Trained peasent militia enters battle carrying a two-handed yari(spear). Swift and strong vs Calvary, but vulnerable to archers.
Bushi: Stout Swordsman availible in Classical, the bushi can defeat most infantry units(even Samurai), but is vulnerable to archers and Calvary.
Siege Units availible soon!
Titan: Sarutahiko Ohkami.The Japanese god of crossroads, pathways, and surmounting obstacles. He stands seven fathoms tall, with a massive beard and a jeweled spear. Holy light shines from his eyes, mouth, and posterior. Sarutahiko is the chief of the earthly kami and the husband of Ama-no-Uzume no Mikoto, the goddess of mirth, dancing, wifery, and health. He guards the bridge that links the heavens and the earth.
Pantheon:
Major Gods:
1. IZANAGI:
In Japanese Shinto-mythology, the primordial sky, the god of all that is light and heavenly. Izanagi ("the male who invites") and his wife and sister Izanami ("the female who invites") were given the task of creating the world. Standing on Ama-no-ukihashi (the floating bridge of the heavens), they plunged a jewel crested spear into the ocean. When they pulled it free, the water that dripped from the spear coagulated and formed the first island of the Japanese archipelago. Here the first gods and humans were born.
2. SUSONOWA:
The Japanese Shinto god of the winds, the storms, and the ocean, also the god of snakes. He was born from the nose of Izanagi, and was given dominion over the seas. His sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu, is also his consort. Susanowa (Susanoto) is the personification of evil, but also a brave, if lawless and impetuous, god. His outrages are not limited to the ocean; he also ravages the land with his storms and he darkens the sky, thus angering the 'eight million deities (the kami).
3. Amaterasu:
The Japanese Shinto sun goddess, ruler of the Plain of Heaven, whose name means 'shining heaven' or 'she who shines in the heavens'. She is the central figure in the Shinto pantheon and the Japanese Imperial family claims descent from her 1. She is the eldest daughter of Izanagi. She was so bright and radiant that her parents sent her up the Celestial Ladder to heaven, where she has ruled ever since.
Classical Gods
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RAIDEN:
The Japanese god of thunder (rai) and lightning (den). He prevented the Mongols from invading Japan in 1274. Sitting on a cloud he sent forth a shower of lighting arrows upon the invading fleet. Only three men escaped. Raiden is portrayed as a red demon with sharp claws, carrying a large drum.
DAI-KOKU:
The Japanese god of wealth and protector of the soil and patron of farmers. He is one of the Shichi Fukujin. Called the Great Black One, he makes wishes of mortals come true. He is portrayed as a fat and prosperous man, standing or seated on two bags of rice and with a bag of jewels on his shoulder.
FUDO:
The most popular of the Myoo ("great kings") and the god of fire and wisdom. He is the fifth of the guardians of the heavens and the patron of astrology. He is called upon at the start of difficult undertakings, as well as in times of war, epidemics and disasters. Fudo protects against calamities, great dangers and fire and theft. He resides in a temple on the summit of Mount Okiyama surrounded by fire.
Heroic Gods
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RYUJIN:
Luminous Being". The Japanese dragon god of the sea. Ryujin lives in Ryugu his palace at the bottom of the sea. His daughter Otohime (Toyo-Tame) married prince Hoori. The sea-king is depicted with a large mouth. Turtles are regarded as his messengers.
BENTEN:
The Japanese goddess of love, eloquence, wisdom, the arts, music, knowledge, good fortune and water. She is the patroness of geishas, dancers, and musicians. Originally she was a sea goddess or water goddess, on whose image many local deities near lakes were based. Later she became a goddess of the rich and was added to the Shichi Fukujin.
FUJIN:
The Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He was present at the creation of the world and when he first let the winds out of his bag, they cleared the morning mists and filled the space between heaven and earth so the sun shone. He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.
Mythic Gods
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IDA-TEN:
The Japanese Buddhist god of law and monasteries. His swift speed of movement is unmatched. He is represented as a handsome young man
BISHAMON:
The Japanese god to whom many functions are attributed, but he is mostly known as a god of war, the distributor of wealth and protector of those who worship the 'Lotus of the righteous Law'.
IZANAMAI:
In Japanese Shinto-mythology, a primordial goddess and personification of the Earth and darkness. Izanami ("the female who invites") is the wife and sister of Izanagi. Together they created Onogoro, the first island of the Japanese archipelago. She died gaving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi and since then she rules over the underworld.
Myth Units
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Kappa: The Japanese Kappa is a roughly man-size aquatic creature, who somewhat resembles a humanoid turtle with a bowl-shaped indention in his skull. This bowl holds the water that keeps the Kappa alive, and legend says the Kappa will die if it is ever spilled. The Kappa is much stronger than it's size would indicate, and a natural wrestler.
In game terms, the Kappa is an unique land/water hybrid. The Kappa is produced at the temple, and fights on land. However, the Kappa can swim, and regens HP's only in water or garissoned in friendly docks. This makes the Kappa useful as a water-based raider.
Special attack: Drown. The Kappa seizes an unwary human unit and pulls them into the water to drown. This attack will kill the unit, but takes several seconds to pull off.(The Kappa grabs the unit and moves slowly towards water. The farther away from water, the longer it takes) This attack cannot be used on enemy heroes of MU's. The Kappa receives only a x2 bonus vs enemy MU's, and is best used to seize workers and unwary soldiers.
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Some basic work on the Tengu:
Tormenting spirits from Japanese folklore. These bogeymen, with their long noses and beaks, live in mountains and forests and are especially after children. Their leader is Sojo-bo.
Traditionally, the Tengu is depicted as lithe humanoid with the head and wings of a crow. They are agile fliers, and have a reputation for swordsmanship.
In game, the Tengu is unique, a quick flying melee unit. While the Tengu is a swift flyer, they must land in order to use their katanas. They are superb harassment and support units, but lack the stanima to survive in the front-lines.
Tengu are only availible to worshipers of Fujin, the Demon God of Winds.
Sojo-Bo training. Sojo-bo, leader of the Tengu, was credited with instructing the famous Japanese hero, Yoshitsune, in the advanced martial arts of the tengu demons. Sojo-Bo training hones the skills of your tengu, increasing their damage and hack armor.
Yofune-Nushi Spawn: The Great Dragon Yofune-Nushi was an enormous sea serpent who demanded human sacrifice, else he would cause storms to sink fishing ships.
The Yofune-Nushi Spawn is a powerful Heroic Water MU Availible to Ryujin. It backs up its fighting skills with a powerful lightning attack.
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Yama-Ko: The Yama-Ko(Mountain Man) is a forest dwelling demon with the appearnce of a large hairy ape, and have great strength. He is however, easily calmed by a gift of rice.
The Yama-Ko is a Classical ranged unit availible to Dai-Koku. This wild demon can throw his spears with enough force to stun his targets briefly.
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Oni: The terrifying Oni is a classic Japanese Monster. These large green, horned, 3 eyed, man-eating Ogres with their signature tiger-stripes and spiked clubs are the quittessential boogeyman of Japanese society. The Oni is a powerful fighter with a dangerous roar attack, which lowers the damage of all adjacent human units for a brief time, as they are stricken with fear.
The Oni is availible to the classical God Fudo, and has two upgrades. Go-Zu-Oni, and Me-Zu-Oni, both of which result in a bigger, stronger, smellier, and all around nastier Oni.
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Dragon: A hatchling descended from the Dragon ridden by the Godess Benten, the Dragon is a Heroic Age, Powerful flying unit that attacks with puffs of acidic vapor, causing pierce damage. The Dragons special attack is a larger cloud of acid that inflicts splash damage.
The Dragon is availible to worshipers of Benten.
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Raiju: This classical myth unit, has the appearance of a large cat demon composed of lightning. This cat becomes agitated during thunderstorms, leaping from tree to tree.
This crazy cat is not a tough unit, but is very fast and has a leaping attack.
Thunderclap upgrade: The sound of Thunder drives Raiju into a frenzy, increasing jump-distance, and reducing cooldown by half.
Raiju is availible to worshipers of Raiden.
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Kumo: These large spiders are known to lurk inside old castles, disguising themselves as heaps of clothes.
The Kumo is a Mythic age MU. This enormous Spider doesn't inflict much damage, but is very tough, and skillfully binds units with it's web attack.
The Kumo is availible to worshipers of Bishoman.
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Shiku-Me: The Shiku-Me is a female devil tasked with dragging the souls of the wicked down to hell. The Shiku-me looks like a suprising attractive woman, if you don't count the horns, wings, and long claws. The Shiku-Me is strong and fast, but most terrifying is it's special attack. Upon spotting an unrepentent sinner, the Shiku-Me orders Ghostly Hands to rise up and drag the poor victim directly to the fiery depths of hell.
The Shiku-Me is availible to followers of Izanamai.
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Kirin: The Kirin is the Japanese version of the unicorn, a one-horned stag with the mane of a lion. The Kirin is a protector of the just, but doom to the wicked.
The Kirin isn't the strongest MU on the block, but it is fast and does x4 damage to enemy MU's. Additionally, the Kirin's special attack calls on it's powerful magic to raise the armor of adjacent friendly units. The Kirin is best used for support and is availible to worshipers of Ida-ten.
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[This message has been edited by Zappos (edited 04-05-2004 @ 06:15 PM).]
. Supposedly, the only way you could hide from this god was under a mosquito net, so his GP could make your army temporarily invincible against Myth Units and God Powers
