posted 09-07-08 11:45 AM EDT (US)
While I tend to ignore anything based in fantasy, I thought of this and decided to give it a try. I think that Age of Epics is good, and with your help I can make it better.
Age of Epics is set in a Lord of the Rings-type world, but it has its own storyline. There are nine playable races to choose from, each with its own UU structure and hero system.
Food - Animals, herd animals, fish, forage bushes, farms
Wood - Trees
Gold - Gold mines, trade routes
Stone - Stone quarries
Population - Town Centres, Houses
The nine races are divided two ways (Good/Evil and Order/Chaos)
GOOD/EVIL
The GOOD races are - Elves, Reptilians and Tamers
The NEUTRAL races are - Dwarves, Humans and Aquids
The EVIL races are - Undead, Orcs and Goblins
ORDER/CHAOS
The ORDERED races are - Elves, Dwarves and Undead
The NEUTRAL races are - Reptilians, Humans and Orcs
The CHAOTIC races are - Tamers, Aquids and Goblins
In this way, humans are the only race who are entirely neutral and have no natural alignment.
*Good races recruit from native tribes by paying the tribe. They recieve better native warriors.
*Neutral races recieve free, average native warriors by winning a tribe's allegiance. To do this they have to perform a task for the tribe.
*Evil races recruit from native tribes by enslaving them. This is free, but the native warriors are weaker.
*Ordered races generally prefer quality over quantity. Their soldiers are fewer but stronger than those of other races.
*Neutral races do not have a preference. They field normal amounts of average-strength soldiers.
*Chaotic races typically prefer quantity to quality. They have larger armies than other races, but their soldiers are weaker.
Hero System: Like the Atlanteans in AoM (Soldiers can be changed into heroes)
Favoured Terrain: Woodland and Forest
Hero System: Like the Egyptians in AoM (1 strong & respawns, infinite weak)
Favoured Terrain: Mountains
Undead (Evil, Order)
Hero System: Like the Greeks in AoM (1 hero per age, get stronger)
Favoured Terrain: Darklands, shadowlands
Hero System: Soldiers with 50 kills become heroes
Favoured Terrain: Moors and Plateaus
Hero System: Like the Norse in AoM (Infinite average heroes)
Favoured Terrain: Grassland
Hero System: Like the Europeans in AoE 3 (1 hero who can't die but gets knocked unconscious)
Favoured Terrain: Rocky, quarries, valleys
Hero System: Get a hero every time you fill 10 population
Favoured Terrain: Wilderness, outback
Hero System: Every 20 minutes you get a hero
Favoured Terrain: Bayou, marsh, wetlands
Hero System: Every Town Centre gives one hero
Favoured Terrain: Flat land, plains
Halflings
Unit: Rogue
Dark Elves
Unit: Dark Mage
Gnomes
Unit: Sparrow rider flock
Imps
Unit: Trickster Magician
Shades
Unit: Shadowkinetic
Assassin Cult
Unit: Bounty Hunter
Avians
Unit: Fighting Crane
Serpentines
Unit: Constrictor
Timbuks
Unit: Tribal Spearman
Castlers
Unit: Paladin
Demons
Unit: Smoke Spirit
Trolls
Unit: Ogre
Nomads
Unit: Caravan
Rangers
Unit: Archer Patrol
Guardians
Unit: Protector
Felinas
Unit: Coyote Warrior
Gremlins
Unit: Beastie
Horrors
Unit: Bugbear
(example:
RACE NAME
Heroes: Hero types and how to get them
Units:
* Age 1 militia unit
* Age 2 Archer
* Age 2 Melee
* Age 3 Archer
* Age 3 Melee
* Age 4 Melee
* Siege Unit
Best Unit:
Age 4 Excellent unit
Flying Unit:
Age 3 Flying unit
Boats:
1 small boat and one big boat, in any order.
end of example)
Heroes: Any normal soldier can become a hero
Units:
* Woodsman
Elf militia unit. Also works as a second villager which harvests wood by growing trees instead of cutting them down.
* Elven Archer
Light ranged unit, good against other archers. Weak but cheap.
* Sacred Longsword
Medium melee unit, good against infantry, causes lasting "purity damage" to enemy unit, which signifigantly lowers overall health limit.
* Oak Crossbow
Heavy Ranged unit, good against cavalry. Also does well as an earlier siege unit.
* Expert Daggerman
medium melee unit, good against commanding units, has ranged "throwing dagger" attack.
* Elf Commander
Light commander unit, improves the attack and HP of ajacent friendly units. Is a competent mage and swordsman.
* Ballista
Heavy Seige unit, good against Buildings.
Best Unit:
Woodlander
Flying Unit:
Eagle Rider
Boats:
* Elven Galley
* Trireme
Heroes: 1 King - very strong respawning hero, infinite guardsmen - weak backup heroes
Units:
* War Hammer
Militia with weak attack, good against infantry, has special "hammerdown" ability which makes a shockwave around all adjacent units, including friencdly ones.
* Slinger
Light ranged unit, good against infantry. Has special Crystal Bullet ability which does much better damage than normal.
* Axeman
Medium melee unit, good against cavalry, has special "throw axe" ability, but has to retrive axe from enemy's body.
* Diamond Javelineer
Heavy ranged unit, good against archers and cavalry. Very powerful attack.
* War Mallet
Heavy melee unit which is the only unit in the game with bonus damage against heroes.
* Master Axeman
Heavy ranged unit, god against artillery, has "throw axe" ability but dosent need to pick it up to throw again.
* Rock Thrower
Heavy artillery unit, good against almost anything it has to fight.
Best Unit:
Highlander
Flying Unit:
Day-bat rider
Boats:
Dwarf Coracle
Galleass
UNDEAD
Heroes: 1 per age - Skull Hero, Zombie Hero, Skeleton Hero, Skeleton Sage
Units:
* Fresh Corpse
* Skull Warrior
* Skull Swordsman
* Zombie Caster
* Zombie Devourer
* Skeleton Soldier
* Siege Tower
Best Unit:
Darklander
Flying Unit:
Undead Falcon Flock
Boats:
Skull Ship
Bone Pentekonter
Heroes: A Reptilian soldier with 50 kills becomes a hero.
Units:
* Lizard Man
Light melee unit, good against cavalry, throws spears, can be ugraded to attack with poison.
* Poison Spitter
Light ranged unit, good against infantry, any unit damaged by poison would slowly lose health until they die. If something begins to heal a poisoned unit, the poison effect disappears.
* Chameleon
Medium support unit, can be stealthed as long as it dosent go near town centers or towers. Can use the Tongue ability, which draws the target unit right up to the Chameleon.
* Frog Rider
Medium cavalry unit, good against seige, has passive "charge" ability, can run over infantry with a little damage to itself.
* Tame Komodo
Heavy support unit, adjacent friendly units get extra attack and health, has "charge".
* Monitor Warrior
Heavy Infantry unit, good against cavalry, Gains health by eating the bodies of killed units, IE, gains health by delivering damage.
* Big Tortoise
Heavy Seige, good against buildings, provides population room when trained (houses on it's back).
Best Unit:
Uplander
Flying Unit:
Dragon
Boats:
Scaled Schooner
Turtle
Heroes: Knights are human heroes. You can have infinite Knights.
Units:
* Peasant
* Longbowman
* Short Sword
* Flamethrower
* Claymore
* Zweihander
* Battering Ram
Best Unit:
Heartlander
Flying Unit:
Roc Carrier
Boats:
Longship
Sloop of War
Heroes: Orcs have 1 Orc General who can only be knocked out.
Units:
* Grunt
* Orc Rabble
* Orc Clubman
* Orc Bowman
* Orc Swordsman
* Orc Captain
* Torch Squad
Best Unit:
Lowlander
Flying Unit:
Orc Scientist
Boats:
Orc Raider
Orc Conqueror
Heroes: Every time a Tamer fills 10 pop, they get a Beastmaster.
Units:
* Cougar
Weak militia unit which is incredibly cheap. Bonus damage to villagers.
* Tamer Bowman
Heavy archer with the Tranquilizer Dart ability, which stuns enemies around the target.
* Tiger Rider
Fast, powerful clubman who can use Tiger Stealth to become stealthy.
* Wilderness Trapper
Very light archer who can set up to 3 traps at a time, which will damage the first enemy near them before disappearing.
* Dog Hunter
Melee hunter with low HP and armour. Attacks with two dogs for very good damage. Keep away from archers.
* Beast Handler
Can perform a recharging Beast Kill attack, which kills any enemy creature-unit in one. Powerful in all areas of combat.
* Mammoth
A huge, lumbering beast which bats down walls with its head.
Best Unit:
Badlander
Flying Unit:
Airborne Raptor
Boats:
Beast Keeper
Fireship
Heroes: Every 20 minutes, Aquids receive a Tsunamoid.
Units:
* Fish-man
* Octopus Ink Squirter
* Crab Claw
* Electric Eel
* Shark Warrior
* Water Spirit
* Lobster Army
Best Unit:
Wetlander
Flying Unit:
Albatross
Boats:
Whale
Piranha Squad
Heroes: Every Goblin TC gives a respawning Goblin Skald
Units:
* Minion
Weak, cheap militia with an alright attack.
* Goblin Arrow
Hurls bundles of sharpened stakes at enemies for decent area damage. High HP.
* Mischief-maker
Permanently stealthy (unless attacking) goblin mage. Awful attack but can temporarily paralyze (can't move or attack), poison (steadily lose health) or confuse (become hostile to everyone) enemies.
* Fireball launcher
Goblin mage who can spit fireballs through a blowgun. Good against infantry and buildings.
* Double Swordsman
Uses twin blades to kill all cavalry. Powerful Spinning Attack severely damages all nearby enemies.
* Goblin Master
Empowers the speed and attack of all nearby allies. Massive war club easily kills melee units. Slave Army ability creates an army of weak, low HP soldiers who will die after 40 seconds.
* Goblin Mantlet
Weak attacking siege unit with incredibly high HP. Use as a barrier for weaker units.
Best Unit:
Flatlander
Flying Unit:
Vulture Trio
Boats:
Goblin Juggernaut
Pirate Ship
Villager - Gathers resources and builds.
Holy Man - Heals and converts.
Fishing Boat - Villager in the sea.
Caravan - Trades between markets.
Cog - Trades between docks.
BEST UNITS
Best units are the commander units of their respective races. They are all expensive, and limited to just 5. All friendly units near them receive attack and HP bonuses, while nearby enemies get a reduced speed. Best Units can attack at melee or range.
AGE 1
Town Centre - 1 in age 1, can build up to 5 from age 3. 10 pop. Trains militia.
House - Can build up to 10 from age 1. 10 pop.
Dock - Builds and upgrades boats. Part of a trade route.
Farm - Task villagers to generate food.
Tower - Shoots at enemies.
Consulate - Build in native lands to ally with them.
AGE 2
War House - Trains all 3 melee units.
Workshop - Trains both ranged units and siege unit.
Market - Part of a trade route.
Native Post - Trains allied native warriors.
Armoury - Upgrades weapons, shields and armour.
AGE 3
Palace - Trains flying and best units.
Holy Site - Trains Holy Men and heals nearby units.
Castle - Trains all melee and ranged soldiers, strong attack.
AGE 4
Wonder - Starts the victory timer.
Age of Epics: Fanaticism introduces some changes to the Vanilla game. Four new races are present, each one now "Specialized", meaning they have only one trait. The new races do not have best units. Every race now has three unique boats, as well as two flying units.
RACES
All new races receive heroes from gathering a relic, with any unit, and depositing it in a Town Centre or House.
The unquiets are similar to the undead in that they are reanimated beings. However where the undead are all Skeletons and Zombies, the unquiets are ghosts and other, more surreal beings. They primarily fight for Good and against the undead, in the hope that they may return to their eternal slumber in peace.
UNITS
Heroes: Heroic Ghost
Units:
* Essence
Weak militia which is stealthy but has a weak attack. It can Spook enemies, causing them to walk in random directions for the duration of the power.
* Ghast
Has almost no HP, but a huge LoS and inflicts steady damage on all enemies it can see. Almost anything will kill it in no time at all, but it can prove useful.
* Aethereal
Melee ghost-like creature, moves slowly but quickly sucks the life out of enemies when it reaches them.
* Presence
A more powerful, ranged version of the Essence. Better attack and HP, but is no longer stealthy. Maintains the Spook ability.
* Shade
Like in the AoM campaign, shades are cheap, fast and invisible to enemies. They perform a one hit kill on most units, but die after attacking.
* Ghost Warrior
Powerful melee fighter who can be put in Ghast mode, where it damages everything in LoS, or Ghost mode, where it is like a normal unit.
* Undermine
While moving, it can pass through anything. When stationary, it materializes. Leave it over a building and when it materializes it will do huge damage.
Best Unit:
Icelander (Not like someone from Iceland)
Flying unit:
Spook
Boats:
Ghost Ship
Shipwreck
The Voodoo represent several different races, as well as some human members. They possess powerful magic and curses, and use very interesting tactics to get their way. Voodoo fight mostly to replace the empires of the world with a single, fairly chaotic society.
The Hellas are the denizens of hell, they mainly consist of condemed souls, demons, and warriors of the apocalypse, their main enemies are basically anything good or neutral, but especially humans.
Units:
Hero system: Heroes can be summoned for a set amount of souls you sacrifice at the unholy site.
Unique buildings:
HELLPIT:
For every unit you kill, a soul is trained for free in the hellpit. souls have no attack and cannot be killed, they can be captured, if brought to an enemy holy site, can be turned back into the soldiers they were for a small price.
UNHOLY SITE
replaces holy site, souls can be moved there and be sacrificed there, after a set amount of souls are sacrificed, a hero is spawned, there are 8 heroes to be summoned.
Heroes:
FAMINE
First Horseman of the apocalypse, has 50/50 chance of taking a soul without killing the enemy unit with "Scales" ability. costs 20 souls.
PESTILENCE
Second Horseman of the Apocalypse, can convert enemy units with "Crown" ability, costs 40 souls
WAR
Third Horseman of the apocalypse, has very powerful fire attack with "flaming sword" ability. costs 60 souls
DEATH
Fourth Horseman of the apocalypse, can transport all souls to his side with "Come And See" ability, costs 80 souls
LIGUR
Duke of Hell, has powerful fire attack, costs 100 souls
HASTUR
Duke of Hell, has powerful ice attack, units damaged with ice is basically the same as a frost giant in AoM. costs 120 souls
MEPHISTOPHELES
Hell's Ambassador to Earth, can take souls from enemy units without killing them. costs 140 souls
BEELZEBUB
Hell's ambassador to Heaven, can tear enemies apart with ranged "swarm of flies" attack, when not using ability, attacks with longsword, costs 160 souls
Units:
* Condemed Soul
Light milita, can only be trained by upgrading a soul unit, for a price, cost to upgrade, 25 wood
* Imp Bowman
Light ranged unit, good against ranged. Costs 50 food
* Imp Warrior
light melee unit, good against infantry, costs 50 food
* Damon
medium ranged, good against heroes, has ranged fire attack, costs 25 food, 50 gold
* Foliot
light melee unit, good against cavalry, has spike attack, costs 25 food, 25 gold
* Hellhound
medium melee unit, good against seige, has "charge" ability, costs 50 food, 25 gold.
* Skeletal Catapult
heavy seige unit, good against infantry, has powerful "bone shrapnel" attack which damages units over a wide area, costs 100 wood, 50 gold
Flying unit:
Harpy
Best unit:
Deathlander
Naval units:
Charon Galley
Infernoship
The Insectoid empire have had many battles with the elves to establish the dominant power in the forest. Their varied tactics and efficient spies proved a match for the elven magic skills and intelligence. Their domain is the eastern half of the great Northern forest, and it wouldn't be too difficult for them to conquer further.
Every race, excluding Humans, has an arch enemy who they cannot ally with (except through the map editor). Their heroes and best units get a decent bonus against their arch enemy's units.
LIST OF ARCH ENEMIES
Elves - Insectoid Empire (Because of their Woodland Wars.)
Dwarves - Aquids (Earthen Dwarves dispise the Water-dwelling Aquids.)
Undead - Unquiets (Unquiets cannot rest in peace until the undead are stopped)
Reptilians - Hellas (Evil Hellas usually surface in Good Reptilian lands.)
Orcs - Tamers (Orcs and Tamers battle to decide who owns the wastelands separating them.)
Goblins - Voodoo (Voodoo require goblin bodyparts for some of their potions. Goblins require Voodoo pygmies for their minions to eat.)
The Māori - Sand - The new USA - Age of Epics - Gang Wars - The Future ES Games story! - Jaguar6's Age of Rebirth - Charting the Globe - The Old West - WWII (setup)
[This message has been edited by NotInvolved (edited 09-15-2008 @ 04:47 PM).]
