MOD: Zulu
 

Zulu Mod: The Zultu Empire

This mod recreates a mythical Zulu-based nation (the name is a shameless combination of “Zulu” and “Bantu”). The nation is intended as a regional foe and opposite number to Machaka. The Zultu magic paths are essentially Air/Earth, with a small amount of Nature mixed in. The mod replaces Abysia in the lineup of nations.

Mod Note: Because the Inyanga wise woman translates most closely as the current Witch in the Concept Balance 5.0 mod, I’ll try to make the Zultu Empire mod compatible with that mod. In particular, the CB Witch has Healing ability, and this is an intrinsic part of the culture being modeled.

Historical Campaign Role: An early competitor against Machaka, the tradition-bound Zultu Empire was ultimately destroyed by the more vital nation.

Themes: Air Magic, Earth Magic, some Nature Magic, Lions, extremely mobile infantry.
Preferred Heat Scale: +1.
Strengths: Strong national troops. Strong Mages. Sacred troops. Healing. Wasteland and Mountain Survival. Sacred Lions are exceptional.
Weaknesses: No long-range missiles or cavalry. No real access to Astral, Blood, or Death magic. Strongest magic is capital only. Forced Sloth Scale –2 (can’t mod this, but testers should take note).

Home Site—Sacred Mountain (mod Smoulder Cone)
2A2E1N. Special Units: 87 (Storyteller), 89 (Sorcerer), 90 (Warriormaids), 923 (Sangoma priest)

Zultu—the People of Heaven
(Zulu = Zultu = People of Heaven)
As the Zultu are a blessed people, they receive a national bonus of +4 Protection and +1 MR, as befits their exalted status. Any sacred bonus stacks with the national blessing. Holy units and warriors of specialized cults are even more blessed.

Zultu Empire Battle Tactics
The Zultu army is organized into regular regiments, called Impi. The typical Zultu attack formation represents an attacking bull. A strong center (called the Loins) makes a holding attack. While the enemy is pinned, fast-moving units on both flanks (the Horns) close around the enemy, who is enveloped and destroyed. A reserve is often held behind the Loins, giving extra depth to the battleline.

God Notes
I haven't dealt much with modding Pretenders and am not sure how tractable the setup screens are. The Fire God templates of Abysia are not really appropriate for the Zultu.

I would definitely put the White Bull on the chassis list. Other than that, this is something to save for later.


The Approach
The first step to making the Zultu mod is to model the national military. As a military force, the Zulus were highly organized and disciplined. They were toughened by their environment and by rigorous training. It was reported that they could run 60 miles in a day and fight a battle at the end of it.

As always, we start from the base human stock.

Base Human
sz 2, hp 10, gld ?, res ?,
Prot 0, mor 10, MR 10, enc 3,
Str 10, att 10, def 10, prec 10, mv 2/12
Special: none

Legend: sz=size, hp=hit points, prot=protection, mor=morale, MR=magic resistance, enc=encumbrance, str=strength, att=attack, def=defence, prec=precision, mv=move.

The base Zultu is physically more powerful than the root human stock. Their warlike nature gives them bonuses to their attack and defense ratings. Their cultural bias against long-range missile weapons has resulted in a –1 penalty to their Precision. Their superb physical conditioning allows them great strategic mobility. Their connection with the land allows them to easily live in savannah, hot wastelands, and mountainous regions. They have an abiding distrust of dense forests and tend to avoid them. Great evil (such as the Machaka) dwell in such places.

Base Zultu:
sz 2, hp 11, gld ?, res ?,
Prot 4, mor 11, MR 11, enc 3,
Str 11, att 11, def 11, prec 9, mv 3/13
Special: Waste survival, Mountain survival.


Cultural Weapons (??? = number to be assigned)

21 Javelin: This can be used without change to represent the traditional Throwing Assegai.

315 Machaka Spear: The Zultu had a Great Spear, too. It is considered archaic and has generally been replaced by the stabbing Assegai. The Machaka Spear can be used here without change.

??? Assegai: New weapon. A short (4-foot) stabbing spear used for close combat.

??? Knobkerrie: New weapon (slightly upgraded club).

??? Bull Knobkerrie: A new weapon associated with a specialized warrior cult.

??? Sacred Lion Claw (29): Dmg 0, Att 0, Def 0, Len 0, res 0; magic weapon

??? Sacred Lion Bite (322): Dmg 2, Att 0, Def -1, Len 0, res 0; magic weapon


Cultural Armor

44 Furs: This is used without change to represent Skins.

105 Hide Shield: A small, rawhide shield, non-specialized.

112 Great Hide Shield: Traditional full-body shield, currently considered archaic, but used by some units.

??? Zultu Cuirass: New Armor. A recent advance, roughly comparable in protection to the Manchaka Plate Hauberk, but less encumbering.

??? Zultu Shield: New Armor. Smaller than the Great Hide Shield and handier in melee, it has become the standard shield used by the Zultu Impis.

??? Zultu Bead Cap: New Armor. A national special for certain magic-using Leaders. In a perfect world, this would be configured as a Magical Trinket (1A. Cost 5A). It is automatically assigned to some of the Zultu mages.

79 Zultu Feathered Headdress: New Armor. This is a national special, which has mostly the same characteristics as the Spirit Helm. Since we are unable to add it directly, substituting the Spirit Helm will have to do. (Note: If Machaka can start with Bane Blades, I don’t see any reason not to start certain Zultu with a Spirit Helm.)

Now, some basic troop and leader concepts:

Troops

Zultu Militia: These warriors are less experienced and somewhat worse equipped than in other impis. Assegai, Javelin. Hide Shield. Overall about equal to normal men.

Zultu Warrior: The basic Impi warrior. Might be positioned either in the Horns or the Loin of the Impi battle line. Assegai, Javelin. Zultu Shield.

Zultu Old Warrior: Older warrior (Loins warrior or reserve). These are the most experienced and tradition-bound warriors, slow to adopt the more modern equipment of the Impis. Machaka Spear. Zultu Cuirass, Great Hide Shield. Say -1 Str, mv -0/-1.

Zultu Leopard Cult Warrior: Specialized cult of stealthy raiders, armed with the Knobkerrie, carrying a Hide Shield, and armored in animal skins. Stealth (Pillage?) bonus.

(Technically, leopard skins should be restricted to commanders and royalty. However, the Leopard raiders were so cool I couldn’t resist. A more purist line would be to have Jackal Warriors, as in Zulu culture the Jackal has a reputation for cleverness and cunning, and does not have the bad reputation as a scavenger that it has in western cultures.

Also, I briefly considered having these shapeshift. But Vanheim and Mictland already have troops that do this, and I am reluctant to go the well a third time. I might reconsider if the nation tests out as too weak, but I would be extremely reluctant to do so if there was another option.)

Zultu Bull Cult Warrior: Specialized warrior cult, comprised of warriors of exceptional size and strength. Secret rituals enhance their toughness and bulk. Like bulls, they are extremely territorial and skilled patrollers. In the Impi battle line, they are nearly always deployed in the Loins. Bull Knobkerrie, Javelin. Zultu Cuirass and Zultu Shield. +1 sz, +2 hp, +1 Str, Mv -0/-1. Patrol bonus.

Zultu Lion Cult Warrior: This elite warrior cult is the most highly disciplined force in the Zultu Empire. They draw their strength from the totem sacred lions and wear lion skin cloaks into battle. Assegai, Javelin. Zultu Cuirass and Zultu +Shield. Prot +1, mor +2, att +1. Fear effect (–2).

Intombi Warmaiden Cult: These holy female warriors are led by Snake Priestesses. Secret rituals give them almost supernatural resistances. Knobkerrie. Furs, Hide Shield. –1 hp, -1 Str, +1 def. Berserker. Holy. Immune to Poison. Resistant to Fire (25%). Recuperates. Capital only.

Sacred Lions: See notes. Something like Summer Lions without the heat effect. Holy.

The Sacred Lions of Zultu
Based loosely on the Nemean Lion, these totem animals are large and exceptionally tough. They have a base protection of 12 (8 ?stoneskin? + 4 national protection) and regeneration. As holy totem guardians, they have the ability to defeat malignant spirits (their attacks count as magic weapons). In their role as a counter to the abominations of Machaka, they are immune to fire and poison. They can hold their own against most cavalry. (Pricing this one is going to be tricky, I think.)

Commanders

Zultu Scout: Stealthy. Javelin. Hide Shield. No leader.

Lion Master: Keeper of the Sacred Lions. Machaka Spear. Furs, Great Hide Shield. Holy, Heat/Poison immune. Poor Leader.

Zultu Induna: Regimental commander. Assegai, Javelin. Zultu Cuirass and Shield. Good Leader.

Leopard Induna: Stealthy regimental commander. Assegai, Javelin. Zultu Cuirass and Shield. Good Leader.

Zultu King: Bull Knobkerrie. Zultu Shield and Cuirass. Feathered Headdress. Exceptional Leader.

Zultu Inyanga (Witch): 1E1N (Healer). Female herbalist and wise woman. Quarterstaff. Poor Leader.

Zultu Sangoma 1A3H. Feathered Headdress. Quarterstaff. A principal tribal elder and councillor. Capital only. Poor Leader. Poor Magic Leader

Zultu Snake Priestess: 2H. Local religious leader. Some of these run the holy Intombi cult. Quarterstaff. Immune to Poison. Resistant to Fire (25%). Recuperates. Holy.

(Note: Technically, the Snake is evil in Zulu folklore, but a snake dance with poisonous snakes is traditional in Zulu culture. It is important to point out that snakes themselves are not worshipped, so a provision like a snake priestess turning into a snake would be inappropriate. That is a lammashta trick, and being both Death path and forest-based,it doesn't really fit.


Zultu Sorcerer 1A2N2?(random, same elemental). Quarterstaff. Bead Cap. Awe?. Capital only.
The random is a double, so there is a 25% chance to get 3AN2 or some lesser elemental combination. There is no chance to get 3N without empowering, nor will Astral, Blood, or Death magic results occur.

Zultu Storyteller 1? (random, any school) The storyteller is the repository of traditional stories and wisdom. Fist. Bead Cap. Capital only. +2 research.

Heroes (to be detailed)
Khekhekli (a slight corruption of the current leader’s name)
Shakala (a slight corruption of the founding leader’s name)
Umabatha (if you go net surfing, you will get a hit)


Unit and Leader Variations
These adjustments are added to the base Zultu in addition to adjustments for individual unit types.

Militia: –1 hp, –2 Pro, –2 mor, –1 MR –1 Str, –1 att, –1 def, mv-1/-1

All Warrior Cults: +1MR, +1Pro

Leader Adjustments

Fighter Ldr: +1 hp, +1 mor
Major Mage: -1str, -2 att, +1 prec, +2 MR, mor +2
Minor Mage: -1str , -2 att, -2def, +1 prec, +1MR, mor +1
Priest: -1 hp, -1att, +1 prec, +1 MR, +1 mor

Graphic Notes
The experience of a military unit can be seen in the amount of white on the shield; the more experienced the unit, the more white. Inexperienced units tend to have black shields. Shield are cowhide patterns. Thus:

Troops

Note: Tufted arm and leg bands should be included.

Zultu Militia: 75% black, 25% white. Simple circlet on head.

Zultu Warrior: 50% black, 50% white. Beaded circlet.

Zultu Old Warrior: 25% black, 75% white. Zultu Cuirass. Beaded circlet with feathers. Beaded loincloth.

Zultu Leopard Warrior: Shield has a leopard skin cover, warrior has leopard skin cloak. Leopard circlet.

Zultu Bull Warriors: 25% brown, 75% white, Zultu Cuirass, tall dark headdress

Zultu Lion Warrior: 25% brown, 75% white, Zultu Cuirass, lion headdress and cloak.

Zultu Intombi Warrior: Female. 100% brown (rawhide) shield, beaded circlet with feathers.

Sacred Lion: Recolor the Summer Lion, making it less red and more tawny/yellow.

Leaders

Zultu Scout: 100% brown rawhide shield. Simple circlet.

Lion Master: Machaka Spear, Great Hide Shield. Lion headdress with feathers.

Zultu Induna: Shield as Warrior. Headress with feathers.

Leopard Induna: As Leopard Warrior, but headdress with feathers.

Zultu King: Albino leopard cloak. Headress with large plumes.

General Note: Zultu bead patterns indicate social rank and standing--fascinating info can be found.


Next time, I’ll do the math and finish mapping the units against the Abysia recruitment screen.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

It is not possible to mod sites.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

However, I think Smouldercone has no gem income and allows recruitemnt of at least Warlock and Demonbred, and probably some others too (Warlock Apprentice, Lava Warrior?). Notice the unit numbers; I think they stand for these four units.

The Blood of Humans Smouldercone would allow for one more capital-only unit (Slayer becomes capital-only). However, that can't be used as the sites can only be referenced by their name, and the first match is used... This makes it impossible to duplicate some themes like Blood of Humans or Return of Raptors.


The site "Land of Pleasures Unattained" gives one gem of Earth, Air and Nature, and increases Turmoil. If there is no spesific reason to go for Sloth, why not have forced Turmoil, and really force it upon the home province? The only Sloth-increasing site seems to be Valley of Shame (1 nature gem, but both Sloth and Turmoil).

Will the Sacred Lions be magical units? With this and having Lion Master able to lead magical units, one would need either a mage or a Lion Master to lead them... This would also let one to give them higher magic resistance.

I'm not sure why Storyteller is capital only. Is this due to preset number of capital-only commanders from Smoulder Cone?

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

QM: I haven't actually tried modding a site, but thanks for the info. My understanding has been that you can't change the site name. I thought it was possible to substitute units if the site already created them, and I thought it was possible to redefine gem types as long as the number of gems didn't change. If this is wrong, I'll just have to find another workaround.

Endoperez: Thanks for the input! In my current game (default Abysia), the Smoulder Cone is in fact providing 5 Fire gems per turn.

You are correct that the numbers in front of the new units are the unit numbers of the Abysian units that the Smoulder Cone creates. I have started, but not completed, mapping the new units over the old units.

I do know that themes cannot be modded, and never really seriously considered using the Blood of Humans version of the Smoulder Cone.

I'm not wedded to the idea of making any particular unit capital only--this is mostly a byproduct of the specific site Abysia has. The fact that it would create certain dynamics (like restricting most of the casters to the capital) is in my view a happy accident that can be exploited, not necessarily an intrinsic part of the design.

More worrisome is the impact of not having the slots available (3 leader, 1 troop). My previous experience has been that the Recruitment screen is hardwired so you can't have more troop types or more leader types than the original nation had (though you can have less).

It already looks like two of the leader types I listed in the first post won't fit, and if I lose another three, I'm not sure what I can do about it.

There's no real reason to go for Sloth, other than the practical reason that Zulta units will be extremely resource-cheap, and the thematic reason that hot-climate cultures seem to develop high sloth levels. Not wedded to any solutions, so thanks for the heads-up on specific sites.

I'd have to think about Turmoil. This setup's need for gold is part of the balance fine-tuning, I'm thinking, and I'm reluctant to narrow the options this early in the design process.

For the Sacred Lions, I'd rather keep them non-magical, though I could probably be pursuaded to make them magical. I think of them more as monsters like Trolls or Gryphons. My preliminary expectation is that the nation might be too weak to be viable without the lions, and that making the lions magical might make them too vulnerable to certain countermeasures.

This attitude might also be colored by the fact that in a recent game I cast Gift of Reason on a Summer Lion with the goal of creating a unit of Summer Lions led by a Summer Lion. The resultant commander had only two misc magic slots, and with no misc item that commands magic beings, the whole project was a disappointment.

As for the storyteller in the capital, yes. The only reason I picked him was that I had to put someone in the capital slot, and in my judgment he was the best candidate.

Incidentally, it looks like the Leaders that get cut are the Induna and the Scout. The Leopard Induna can perform both functions, and if the Recruitment screen is hardwired like I think it is, I lose two commanders off the original list. I would love to hear that I have it all wrong.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

You can modify the units the site allows you to recruit, but not the site itself (gem output type and amount, image, name, extra effects).

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

Have you used #addunit and #addcom -commands? Using them after #clearrec does let one to define any number of units and/or commanders AFAIK.
As five fire gems/turn certainly won't fit, I think you should see different nations' starting sites, without forgetting the themes' sites. I have listed all that seem to fit

The best ones IMO:

Lykeion and Akademeia of Golden Era Arcoscephale offer the recruitment of 4 capital-only commanders (1070,1071,1072,1083) and 1 capital-only unit(1082) without having gem income attached into them.

Man has Forest of Avalon (comm:212, unit:64,65) with 3 nature gems, Tower of Avalon (comm: 151,152,153) with 2 air gems.

Mictlan and Machaka would have some nice sites, but Mictlan blood-sacrifice-reliability can't be modded and replacing Machaka would take out the chosen enemy...

Other possibilities:

Vanheim: Vanhalla (com:948, unit:261) with 2 Air, The Halls of Andvare (comm:323, unit:463) with 3 Earth.

Ulm: Black Temple (unit:738) and The Keep of Ulm (comm: 113 unit: 66) without gem income, Black Forest (comm: 1011, 1028) with 1 Astral and 1 Nature. 1028 is Wolfherd, but to change the summoned creature you'd have to mod Wolves and change Summon Animals, Howl, the two artifacts, etc.

Pangaea: Hidden Grove (comm:516) without gem income.

Pythium: Swamps of Pythia (comm:296, unit: 91,719) without gem income.

Tien Chi: Celestial City (comm: 793 unit:791) with 1 Earth gem. Also some other sites that give Death income, but I quess those are out.


With many capital-restricted commanders, have Lykeion, Akademeia, Land of Pleasures Unattained, and either Silver Stones or Singing Stones. Both of them produce one 1 gem of both Aid and Earth. Result:
Zultu replaces Arcoscephale, start income: 2A, 2E, 1N, forced Turmoil in home province, 4 (or 2 without Akademeia) capital-only commanders, and one capital-only unit. 3 Heroes IIRC (replacing Maker of the Mace, Monster in the Mace, Son of Titans; heroes' names can't be modded, unfortunately).

Man could also work. Man's heroes work a bit different, so you could change Knights of the Stone and give them different #nametype, and they would appear with those names. There can be maximum of 13 of them at the same time IIRC.

There is a pretender god, Mother of Lions, who appears into battles accompanied with several Great Lions. They can't be modded without changing Summon Animals, but she could still be modded to be Zultu-spesific pretender. Using #resttrictedgod would limit her only to the nation you choose to replace with Zultu. She would also make a great Lion Master, but I don't think you could remove her from the pretender selection. You could still make Zultu the only nation with the new Lion Tamer as a pretender.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

Endoperez: Yes, I used the add commands back when I was doing the Grey Elf mod. I had to cut a few commanders/units out of that mod because it wouldn't let me build more of either than what Caelum had. On the other hand, I may not have used #clearrec, because I wanted the winged elf holy troops to have the "Fly in Storms" ability, and I think the #clearrec would have erased that.

Wow! You have put together a truly impressive list of sites! I knew you couldn't mod themes, but I thought that also meant you couldn't use the theme sites. This opens up a whole new field. Can't wait to get started.

Can you mix-and-match capital sites from more than one nation/theme? Can more than one copy of a capital site appear on the same map, or are they sealed in some arcane fashion?

I agree that Golden Age is probably the best fit overall, but, on the other hand, the Golden Age is probably a contemporary, since in theory the Zultu were wiped out fairly early.

Man is probably the next best fit. I wonder if using the Knights for the Sorcerer is too harsh. It would be interesting to have a fixed-sized wizard circle, but that might really kill the nation on a big map. Thirteen is quite a lot though--I can't remember building that many major wizards in any of my own games.

I am somewhat drawn to the Celestial City, but T'ien Chi has been modded so many times that I'm reluctant to add another mod to that list.

Great food for thought. And you are right--Death magic is definitely out for this nation.

Thanks for the heads-up on Mother of Lions. She sounds fine as is--and Great Lions are welcome, too. I'll think about a dedicated Pretender. First though, I'd like to get the core troops up and rolling.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

#clearrec doesn't affect units' abilities, it only applies to units a nation has access to (can recruit from every castle). I think you confused it with #clearspec, which would take all special abilities away from a creature...
Also, if you hit some kind of a maximum value, I don't think it was from the nation. When I made the Unit Replacement/Null Mod series, the different nations could replace each other almost any way. If Ulm can replace Abysia and Abysia Ulm without there being any chances I could notice, there should be no problems with adding units.

You can't use different nations' sites, but you can match sites from the themes. If you modded e.g. Warlocks of Smouldercone, you would change Abysia's capital-only units too. Also, I think only Abysia (or modded nation replacing it) would be able to recruit the units from Smouldercone, regardless of who starts with it. However, there are few annoying restrictions to using themes' sites. Man has two other sites in its Last of the Tuatha theme: one is named "Forest of Avalon" (the same as the base theme one), the other "Avalon". Only Avalon can be added as a site, because Forest of Avalon finds the first FoA, the one for the base theme, and there is no way to make a difference between them.
Also, you can't actually have the Zultu appear as a theme. You can use the Golden Era's sites as you can use any other site in the game, but you can't mod a theme with the nation modding commands.
You could replace all the units/commanders with modded ones, but it's not worth it, as modding normal nations using the theme's sites gives you much finer control over the result. However, I think Golden Era would still show up as a theme under the chosen settings... It'd be an interesting theme if themes were moddable, though, because it has forced Sloth scale. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I quess using the Knight heroes as a template for Sorcerers would be all right. The sorcerers needn't be much better than your normal ones, though. The chance to get them isn't very big even with Luck 3, but 13 Angerbodas or even Blind Ones would be a bit much. And remember that some people use forging Clam of Pearls, massing up Astral income of hundreds and chain-casting Wish as a strategy on the big maps... Some people do recruit more than 13 high-tier mages. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

I would even say almost everyone does. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

QM: Oops. Just checked out the Database and realized Knights of Stone are Heroes. Definitely a bad idea to make them the high-end mage!

However, I have some sources coming on interlibrary loan that touch on Zulu culture, so maybe something interesting will suggest itself when I look them over.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

If you mean they would be too good, not at all, making them recruitable has much more opportunity for unbalance. In actuality, I don't think I have ever gotten more than about three in the course of a normal game.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

id say the only way to get alot is turmoil 3 luck 3 on a large map, i rarely get more than 1-2 per game

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

Turmoil has no effect on heroes.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

it dosnt? never noticed since it increases randoms

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

Heroes aren't events, however... The chance to get a hero is simple (3+Luck scale)% every turn. I'm not sure whether the affecting scale is the base value or citadel luck. (And yes, this means that with Luck -3 (Misfortune 3), you never get heroes!

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

New Stuff

You might take a look at the little trivia game in the last section of this post. Answer in two weeks.

Zulu Folklore Notes
[based on Credo Mutwa’s works]

Still haven’t crunched the numbers on the troops (next weekend, I think), but have been looking into the traditions for ideas. The following is based on hidden shamanic tradition as detailed in Zulu Shaman by Credo Mutwa. It is very different from traditional tales of Unkulunkulu’s creation of man from a bed of reeds, which is the standard fare in those books on mythology that address Zulu traditions at all.

Brief Sketch of the Myth
River of Time (m) joined with Fertile Darkness (f), producing the Living Fire entity. Life as we know it exists in the struggle between the Fire and the Void (the latter is Cold Nothingness—an aspect of the River of Time). If either wins, Life as we know it will be extinguished.

From the warm ashes of the struggle rose Ma, the First Goddess, the Imperfect Undying One, first humanoid entity, the Silvery One, the Goddess of Creation who formed the Earth and Cosmos. Her loneliness caused great restlessness in her creation, which ended with the arrival of the Tree of Life, her destined mate. She fled, horrified. He pursued and forced the issue. Over time, he spewed out the seeds of all plants, and later bore wild animals, birds, insects, and reptiles. She bore the First People.

Much later, one of the First People bore Zaralleli the Wicked, the first deformed child and source of evil in the world. When he matured, he created the metal demons, Tokoloshe (see below), slew his mother, became an absolute ruler, created the Bjaauni abominations through necromantic crossbreeding (see below), and corrupted the First People.

He plumbed forbidden lore, created worse crossbreeds, and made such chaos that Ma and the Tree of Life sent a great flood to destroy him. It did not succeed completely. He assaulted the gods, intending to take Ma for himself, and succeed in stealing her in the course of a cataclysmic battle. Her sorrow and divine nature blistered his people, wracked his lands and cities, and caused the Bjaauni to revolt. The Tokoloshes went mad, attacking all.

Odu the Killer, leader of the Bjaauni and their sole survivor, confronted Zaralleli. When ordered by the sorcerer to kill himself, Odu overcame the potent charm spell and slew the Wicked One. Ma saved one of the First People, Amarava, the only survivor of her race, to become the mate of Odu and bear the Second People.

Odu the High Father & Amarava the Second Mother: They brought the Second People into the world. After many years guiding the Second People, Odu, one of the last immortals, tires of his immortality and lays himself to rest in a volcano, so departing the world. Grief stricken, Amarava flees into the wilderness, where her granddaughter Marimba (see below) and a demon catch her simultaneously. The demon is revealed as a divine messenger from Ma. All this time, Amarava has been polluted by the spirit of Zarallelei, and locked in a constant inner battle with the evil spirit. The inner demon takes control of Amarava and is displayed in all its malice just before it and the messenger disappear in a burst of flame. Amarava is healed, granted immortality, and placed among the stars; the essence of Zarallelei is cast into the Void.

Creatures (inspired by folklore)
Haven’t had time to play with these much, but here they are.

Bjaauni: Giant hairless, mindless undead gorilla-creatures created by Zaralleli. Colored the greenish brown of putrid flesh, they were brutalized and trained to kill by Zaralleli. They revolted and, in destroying Zaralleli and the First People, were destroyed themselves. See Odu.

Tokoloshe: Metal flying demons, much like mosquitoes, but man-sized. Modern biting, stinging, flying poisonous insects are diminutive descendents of these monsters (blood drain? poison?). Destroyed at end of First Age with the destruction of the First People and the evil lord Zaralleli who created them.

Imbula: Ogress, and
Inzimu: Ogre
Ogres are large humanoid cannibals, armed with great clubs or spears. Ugly and deformed, they have large noses, bristly red hair on their bodies, carnivore teeth so large they can’t close their mouths, and long white snakelike tails that they cannot keep from sucking up spilled milk (a characteristic sometimes used to discover their presence). Males have two short, curved horns on their heads (like a western bull’s), while females have a single horn in the center of their foreheads that resembles a rhinoceros horn. Females also have hyena-like snouts and possess witch powers, including the ability to take human form, although the tail cannot change. (In one story, an Ogress wraps her tail around her waist and conceals it with clothing.) See Graphic Sources, below.

Hero Candidates

Chaka/Shaka (m): Great king and legendary unifier of the People. Driven into exile with his mother as a youth, and in constant danger of assassination, this brilliant leader eventually rose to the kingship, having eliminated all rivals. He was responsible for the adoption of modern weaponry and shock tactics, and built the People into an empire to be feared. He is violent, unpredictable, and extremely dangerous.

[Idea: His arrival in the capital automatically kills a friendly leader, non-magical if possible. He automatically recovers all magic the victim was carrying.]

Kintu the Trickster (m): Stomach like a pumpkin, bowed legs, eyes crooked and shifty. See stories in Zulu Shaman. Later he becomes a great and wise king, blind in his last years. He’s clever and a ventriloquist [maybe 1A and Stealth?].

Marimba (f): First poetess and musician, granddaughter of Amarava. [At this point, I might be off:] Had a son, Kawaha. She becomes a target for various unsavory rival tribe leaders and demons that seek to wed/steal her or use war to force her into marriage/consortship. She decides to sacrifice herself for the good of the tribe, but her plan is forestalled by Kawaha, who knocks her out and hides her in a cave. Bloody consequences follow, but when the dust clears the most evil demon suitor is dead, Marimba has married a rival chief, and Kawaha has cut off his own hand for shame of raising it against her.

Zumangwe (m): Strong hunter/warrior, grandson (?) of Odu and Amarava. Not a lot of info here. He may eventually have been killed by an elephant or lion. [More sources on the way.]


Possible Mercenary

Giant of the South: Huge, “black as a thousand nights” cannibal, with teeth like a leopard. May come with Ogres of the Desert. [He has as a great Bag of Holding (one extra misc slot). He can Charm animals (in myth, he captured the Great Leader Bull of the Sun God’s herd).

Graphic Sources
Illustration of Earth Mother:
Zulu Shaman, Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa. Destiny Books: Rochester, NY. 2003. p125.

Illustration of Creation Myth
--ibid p127

Ogres (50-51, 119) and Giant (p39)
Black Fairy Tales. Terry Berger. NY: Athenum.1969.


The Gods

Although it won’t be possible to put together a full dedicated Pretender screen until Dom3, I decided to shoot the works anyway. The first step was to go into the current database list (by Edi) and pick out suitable Pretenders. My final list of them looks like this:

• Pretender (Type)
• Cyclops (Giant)
• Great Mother (Giant)
• Lady of Fortune (Giant)
• Lord of The Desert Sun (Giant)
• Mother of Lions (Giant)
• Son of the Sun – Astral (Giant)
• Monolith (Immobile)
• Divine Serpent (Monster)
• Great White Bull (Monster)
• Manticore (Monster)
• Phoenix (Monster)
• Shedu (Monster)
• Crone (Rainbow)
• Ghost King (Rainbow)
• Great Enchantress (Rainbow)
• Great Sage (Rainbow)

Yes, there are two Fire path Pretenders on this list, the Lord of the Desert Sun and Phoenix. I consider them both thematic, and enough people like to go outside the cultural box (in this case Air/Earth/Nature) that either might be a challenge. I also added the Ghost King to represent ancestral spirits, even though the Zultu culture does not really support Death path magic, either.

To these, I eventually added the following:
[*] Pretender (Type)[*] High Father (Giant)[*] Second Mother (Giant)[*] Lord of Light (Giant)[*] Star Goddess (Giant)[*] Tree of Life (Immobile)[*] Avenger (Monster)[*] Great White Lion (Monster)[*] The Smith (Rainbow)[*] Leopard Warlock (Rainbow)

The long form of these follows (short form is in an Excel workbook, which I will eventually attach):

High Father(cf.Odu): Father of the Second People. Resembles a hairless undead gorilla. Immortal. An unexplained point is how the undead hairless gorilla became the progenitor of a living human race. One can only assume that the elder gods purified him and rendered him a fit mate for the Second Mother. Another possible graphic treatment would be to render him somewhat as a gorilla/Neanderthal cross.

High Father, Giant, cost=100, path=E2/A1, newpath=50, dom=3, weap=Bull Knobkerrie (new), armor=Furs, Great Hide Shield, sz=5, hp=105, prot=8, mor=30, MR=18, enc=2, str=24, att=12, def=14, prec=10, mv=3, ap=16, ldr=125-0-5, fear=0, awe=+3, immortal, survival(f,m,w), slots=humanoid.

Both the High Father and Second Mother are only size 5, even though they are giants. This is because they are actually second-generation gods in the mythos, and a step closer to humankind than are their own progenitors. It would be nice if the graphics for them were noticeably smaller than a full size-6 figure, but larger than, say, trolls. All the Giants in this mythos have some Awe power, but the High Father and Second Mother have the highest ratings.

Second Mother (cf Amarava): Mother of the Second People. Female humanoid with red skin, greenish hair, and golden eyes. See illustration notes for a source.

Second Mother, Giant, cost=100, path=N2/W1,newpath=50, dom=3, weap=Fist, armor=None, sz=5, hp=100, prot=4, mor=30, MR=18, enc=2, str=22, att=9, def=9, prec=11, mv=3, ap=15, ldr=75-0-5, supply=10, awe=+3, regenerate=10, survival(m,w), trample, Special=Reduces Unrest 20% in province; + 380 pop in province (in CB 5.0 mod), slots=humanoid.

One concern is that she not overlap the existing Earth Mother too much, and that she not overshadow that Pretender. I really wanted to get rid of the trample attack, but given the generally pacific nature of the culture and archetype, nothing else in the system really seemed to fit. The size 5 should make her trample somewhat less effective. I like the idea of an Unrest reducer, even though we can’t mod it yet. Incidentally, because of the way integer rounding works, the 380 population increase per turn at a Growth 3 scale should yield somewhere around 50,000 population across a 100-turn game, if I did the math right. That’s about three large provinces worth of people, and seems worth testing out to me.

Lord of Light (cf: Somanga): A secondary sun god out of folklore, I picture him as a Zulu warrior. Attended by eagle-men (humanoids with eagle heads, bright blazing wings and celestial nature—maybe as powerful as Dom 2 angelic host or a little less).

Lord of Light, Giant, cost=50, path=S1, newpath=80, dom=2, weap=Assegai (new), armor=Zultun Shield, sz=6, hp=60, prot=6, mor=30, MR=18, enc=2, str=20, att=13, def=13, prec=11, mv=3, ap=24, ldr=85-0-10, awe=+2, fly, shock immune, survive (m), attracts Sparrow Warriors in mountains, slots=humanoid.

On the surface, and at first, there wasn’t a lot of difference between this configuration and the Son of the Sun (Astral). I almost cut the treatment. However, the graphic would be quite different, and the mountain focus is interesting enough to keep him around for now. I cut his original hp a lot and reinforced the mountain/air detail. He is one of a pair of lesser gods (the other is the Star Goddess), and his positioning as a mountain-based Pretender led to the development of Bird-Men servitors. While in final form these are not exactly from the Zulu baseline mythos, they provide a pagan alternative to the angels and demons currently in the game, are consistent with the culture’s orientation toward Nature and nature spirits. With Eagle Warriors as the most powerful, I downgraded the Pretender’s servitors to the weakest (Sparrow) Warriors.

Star Goddess (cf: Nananana): Rides a mythical star beast that eats diamonds for sustenance and flies. Another folklore figure, originally a human maiden who was placed among the stars. Again, the graphic should be Zulu in flavor. I haven’t found a description of exactly what she rides, a wildebeast would be interesting.

Star Goddess, Giant, cost=50, path=S1, newpath=80, dom=2, weap=Thunder Fist, armor=None, sz=6, hp=55, prot=3, Mor=30, MR=18, enc=2, str=18, att=11, def=14, prec=13, mv=3, ap=16, ldr=50-0-5, awe=+1, fly, gems=+1S, mtd, sacred, sail, slots=mtd, no feet slot.

Even though the star-focus makes her Astral, I hint around the edges that Air would be a consistent second path pick, with things like the Thunder Fist. I’ve made her something of a culture-bender. The free Astral gems make her an interesting pick in a nation that does not otherwise support an Astral pretender. Even though the historical Zulus did not do much ocean voyaging, the Zultu may have, and the possibility that you might be facing a Zultu Pretender with some limited sealift capacity would throw a curve into strategic calculations. Lastly, she breaks a time-honored convention: she is a goddess who is also sacred. In general I agree that Pretender-gods should not themselves be sacred; however, I also think the exception proves the rule, and that an occasional sacred Pretender, with the proper back-story, is OK. In this particular case, if the maiden started as a human and became an established celestial being first, before setting out on the road to ascension, she may have received sufficient veneration and “other” influences to have gained and retained a sacred nature. In short, a rare combination of events came together to produce an anomaly (perhaps an impossibility), the very stuff of fantasy.

Tree of Life: Given the mythos, this isn’t actually the original tree of life, which would be far too powerful to represent in the game as anything other than a scenario special. This one might be considered an offshoot, or small manifestation of the greater Tree that has developed an independent agenda.

Tree of Life, Immobile, point=50, path=N3, newpath=40, dom=4, weap=None, armor=None, sz=6, hp=400, str=25, mor=30, MR=18, enc=0, str=20, att=5, def=0, prec=10, mv=0, ap=2, ldr=125-0-60, supply=15, regenerate=20, recuperate, poison immune, fire susceptible=25, need not eat, slots=2 misc, totally immobile.

Not quite as powerful as the Sphinx, but the Nature path puts a different spin on it. It’s useful to use fire against this entity.

Avenger of the Gods: This monster from folklore is a huge bird (eagle?) with a lion head and golden feathers on its wings. It is a servitor of the oldest gods, thus, somewhat more powerful than the progenitors of the Second People.

Avenger, Monster, cost=125, path=A3, newpath=80, dom=3, weap=Bite (20), Avenger1 Claw, Avenger2 Claw, Armor=None, sz=6, hp=50, prot=15, mor=30, MR=18, enc=2, str=18, att=15, def=13, prec=12, mv=3, ap=16, ldr=75-0-0, fear=6, blood vengeance=+3, ethereal, fly, mb, !e, slots=Head, Misc x2, Avenger Claws: one claw Curses, the other Horror Marks, subject to resistance.

Arguably the most powerful Pretender on this list, for this one "the tale grew in the telling." The curse/horror mark combination might be too much, but after all, the Pretender is the Avenger. The fear rating is the same as the Ghost King because I consider fear of retribution and fear of ancestral wrath to be about equal in the culture. Not sure how powerful the blood vengeance will be—Doom Horrors have a +2, so a +3 might be a little strong. I put in the “magic being” tag to make the creature specifically vulnerable to certain weapons.

Great White Lion: Lions are a major theme for this culture, so this is a natural. Why is it white? I’m a Kimba fan, of course! (And no, I’m not old enough to have seen the original run of the animated series.)

Great White Lion, Monster, cost=75, path=N1, newpath=80, dom=2, weap=Bite (322), Astral Claws (new), Armor=None, sz=6, hp=150, prot=8, mor=30, MR=18, enc=4, str=25, att=16, def=10, prec=8, mv=3, ap=18, ldr=85-0-15, fear=0, recuperates, fire immune, poison immune, standard, survival (f,m), slots=He, 2M.Guards: sacred lion x4), base prot 8.

This should be rather fearsome in combat. The new Astral Claws weapon is just like Astral Claw, except it allows two attacks. Originally, I was thinking Awe, for the lion, but went with a moderate Fear effect. I added the Standard effect because this is a totem animal. If that’s too much, I would lose the Fear effect first. The fire/poison immunities come from the national slant as rival to Machaka. Originally, I thought that having the Great White Lion attract Great Lions would be the way to go, but there are already two Pretenders that do that, so I changed to a one-time Sacred Lion guard.

Note: Endoperez suggested I have a Lion Master Pretender on this list. After consideration, and some additional reading, I’ve decided that it’s not thematic to have a giant Lion Master option. The culture is far more about harmonious coexistence with nature than overcoming and forcing human will on the natural order. The whole idea of a pack master for this culture is much more Western than I’m comfortable with. Along this line, I’ll be changing the Zultu leader “Lion Master” to “Lion Companion” to reflect the cultural emphasis.

Smith of the Gods (cf Ngungi): Traditionally a cripple with one eye. Left leg bitten off by a crocodile and replaced with hoofed leg of a bull which is a bit short. Owns a magic forging hammer and has created most of the fabulous magic items of the gods. I picture him in native dress, about ogre-size and stout, but human rather than ogre in appearance.

Smith, Rainbow, cost=55, path=E2, newpath=20, dom=2, weap=Hammer, armor=None, sz=3, hp=15, prot=0, mor=30, MR=18, enc=4, Str=12, att=10, def=10, prec=8, mv=2, ap=8, ldr=50-0-0, resist fire=50, forge=25, slots=humanoid.

Even though he traditionally has a magic hammer, I leave him with a normal one—the player can forge a Dwarven Hammer if he wants one. His rainbow nature makes him more versatile, if less powerful, than the Cyclops.

Leopard Warlock: From traditional folklore, this is a shapechanging warlock with a leopard theme.

Leopard Warlock, Rainbow, cost=50, newpath=10, dom=1, Fighting Stick (new), armor=None, sz=2, hp=10, prot=0, mor=30, MR=18, enc=3, ap=12, str=10, att=11, def=12, prec=10, mv=3, ap=12, ldr=50-0-25, survival (f,m), slots=Humanoid, Shape Change – Were-Leopard (XXX).

[were-leopard form: weap=Bite (20), Claw (29), armor=None, sz=2, hp=25, prot=6, mor=30, MR=18, sz=2, str=16, att=15, def=13, prec=5, mv=3, ap=15, ldr=50-0-0, regenerate=4, stealth=0), survival(f,m), slots=humanoid, Shape Change – Leopard Warlock (XXX).

In most cases this is more powerful than the Crone, but comes at a higher price. At first, I thought making the warlock stealthy would be a good idea. I later decided that making him shapechange for the stealth would be better.


Events
A heroic woman has killed a fearsome magic Ogress in this province. Upon its death, all those it has enchanted and eaten reappear in a great procession. The people settle in the province and the heroine becomes their queen. (Adds 500/1,000/1,500 people, depending on positive Luck scale.)

Magic Items

Pipe of Dreams: Given by Kinta the Trickster to the giant guarding the Land of the Gods in order to put him to sleep. [Game effect +1N, but cursed. In combat casts “sleep” effect on caster each round.]

Idea: List in game documentation as Trickster’s Pipe, +2S, unique item, concealing its actual path bonus and cursed nature. The item is rigged to change its name and properties the first time it is equipped, accompanied by the popup “The Trickster’s Pipe is revealed as the Pipe of Dreams.”

There’s a reason the actual bonus is Nature magic, and considering the effects, this reason is probably what you are guessing right now.

A more complex version might have one of several random effects that changes from game to game, for example:

10% +1 Astral, Horror Marked, cursed

20% +1 Nature, spell: Poison Cloud, centered on owner, cursed

35% +1 Nature, spell: Sleep Cloud, centered on owner, each round in combat. No curse.

20% No path bonus. Spell: Sleep Cloud, ranged, +2 focus, stackable. No curse.

15% +1 Astral, spell: Charm. No curse.


More Magic--Trivia Game Begins

One of these items is taken from the works of a famous fantasy author. Can you spot the ringer?

Bag of the Fairy Bird
Magical sack from which pour hordes of poisonous, stinging insects, snakes, and scorpions.
Casts a Swarm spell. (Lesser Item 1A3N)

Ngona Oil
When used, it immediately raises the Growth scale in a province to +3. The scale defaults to the reigning dominion normally (Greater Item 2N, 1E, 1S). This elixir is consumed when used.

Pythonskin Amulet
A charm of leopard skin, mamba poison, and other elements, bound in a python skin bag. Gives Invulnerability (Greater Item 3E2N).

Trumpet of Rainfall
Forged by the smith of the gods and given to a legendary hero. Spell: Rain (Greater Item 3W1N).

Horn of Fertility
Magical rhinoceros horn that can create either of two effects. (Unique, 3N1E)
Spell: Ritual spell that increases Growth scale in current province to +3 for one turn.
Spell: Ritual spell that creates 190 population (CB 5.0) in current province.

Staff of the Sangoma
Legendary witchdoctor’s staff, potent against evil creatures.
Dam=5, x2 vs magic beings and demons, att=2, def=4, lng=4, +2MR, magic weapon (Unique, 3S 1E).

Spotted it? For bonus points, name the author and source. In two weeks, all will be revealed.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

A most impressive mod in scope as well as research and ideas. I hope you will finish it. You have my full support. I would also like to see your ideas fulfilled in dom3. Some of the modding restrictions of dom2 will not be there in dom3.

> I haven’t found a description of exactly what she rides, a wildebeast would be interesting.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I love wildebeasts.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

One small nit to pick: How can a creature be undead/mindless and then revolt?

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

I guess they revolted as in "completely out of controll".

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

KO: Thank you for the kind words. I will certainly carry this mod as far as I can under Dom 2, and will revisit it again once Dom 3 is out.

I should mention that if you put the Titanic and my graphic skills into a thimble and shook it, it would rattle. I would really like to hook up with someone who likes doing unit TGAs and could do justice to the Zultus.

(When I was over at the CivFanatic page/Civ3 a while back, I found a very interesting Skaven mod under development, which is being driven by graphic-making gamers. Great stuff--should be done by the end of this year.)

I'm still working on the unit data page. I slacked off over the weekend and went to a movie, Chicken Little--lol! I am currently juggling three Dom 2 projects, but I'll try to get the unit info up this week.

Ironhawk: My guess is that the flavor of mindlessness is somewhat akin to that displayed by zombies in the recent crop of movies. Not too bright, and can be controlled or trained in a limited fashion, but push them too far and you can get a revolt. One reason fantasy necromancy-based societies fall is that the leaders get too overconfident about the degree of their control. Even supposedly controlled undead traditionally retain a certain lizard-brain function that can resent and hate at a very basic level. You usually don't see it in an army level game, but it's there, in the history and in the fantasy traditions.

(I recommend the works of Clark Ashton Smith--Zothique, if you can find it, see here. If you want a real life look at zombies, find The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis.)

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

I just wanted to post a quick update here. Things are going slowly. I'm putting together an alpha .dm file and will be checking stats carefully with that before putting them up here. I will be using #clearrec and putting the Induna and Scout leader types back in.

I've decided (reluctantly) to go with an Arco overwrite for the Dom2 version. The current starting sites are planned: "Land of Pleasures Unattained", "Singing Stones", and "Lykeion."

After looking closely at the way shields are structured, I think I may have given the Zultu Shield too much. The first test version will use Prot 2 instead of Prot 3. It looks to me like any sort of nonmagic Hide/Leather/Wicker shield should have a protection rating of 2 and no more if historical baselines are to be observed. I think good history anchors good fantasy, so the tweak.

Also, I'm changing some weapon names: all "Guardian" become "Magic." The latter is both more accurate and shorter. Two virtues. Purely cosmetic? Ultimately utilitarian, IMO.

The name files are up to 135 male/140 female. I'll quit at 200 each.

The more I look at the Leopard Cult, the weaker they look to me. I'm changing them to Sacred for the first version. If it doesn't work, I can change it back.

I have gone over the gods with an eye toward matching the CB 5.0 mod. This mostly affects encumbrance, but I'll leave all these changes marked red next time I post stats. There were a few changes in point cost, and some alterations to base stats/skills. Also, all the lion-heads get the new Roar instead of Bite, except the White Lion, who gets both. Also, the CB changes to the Crone pretty much took the niche I put the Leopard Warlock in, so I had to readjust this Pretender more than others.

I had some ideas about how to get decent graphics for the mod, but they have all fallen through. For the time being, I have Oceania sprites plugged in... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

The research and themes of this mod are great! I think that is something that many other mods are missing, they don't have the 'depth' of the standard nations.

Re: MOD: Zulu
 

Oversway: Thanks for the compliment.

I've paused on this for a few days. The other Credo Mutwe book finally arrived: Induna, My Children, and I have been immersed.

The story is fantastic (it reads a little like the best of the fiction AARs on this site). It is drawn from the oral traditions of The People (Bantu speakers), and covers their migration from sub-Saharan central Africa to what is current day Natal.

It has a huge cast of characters, some of whom are more than human (a fair amount of the narrative is a first person account by the Lost Immortal). By the time the saga ends, two warriors named Qwabe and Zulu are young men. They are founders of their respective tribes. This book is as close to an heroic tradition for the South African region as we are likely to ever get. Highly recommended, even if you have no direct interest in the subject. If you ever wondered about doing an African mod, I consider it essential reading.

For more recent history, I have been looking through Stephen Taylor's Shaka's Children, which is an impressive work as well. This nonfiction popular history starts with the rise of the Zulus in the 1820's, and continues their history to 1990. Good stuff.