Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

After looking through the mod forum I noticed there were a lot of custom nations based on other fictional lore (such as Warhammer or Lord of the Rings). However there didn't seem to be many based on various real-world mythologies in the way that KO and JK designed the original nations, so I decided I would try to use their approach. The mod uses Inuit shamanism, animism and mythology (such as the legend of the Fast Runner) with a few of my own twists and inspiration from other mythologies that share some of the same themes, such as Romani beliefs about vampires. The nation acts as a pseudo-predecessor to LA Atlantis.

The nation is still a WIP so right now I'm just posting for critique on sprites and to answer questions/field suggestions.

In-game description:

Inuk is a harsh land of ice inhabited by rugged humans. Their environment is a cruel one where villages can be wiped out in a single blizzard and deadly animals prowl the ice. But their greatest fear are the vengeful spirits of creatures that die but do not pass on, that possess tools and thirst for revenge on the living world. Their only hope is to observe the rituals, obey the taboos and trust in the powerful shamans who can communicate with and placate the vengeful Tuurngait spirits. Not all such forces are vengeful, however, and friendly Tuurngait can bring luck, heal sicknesses or even banish demons. The Inuk do not use heavy armour or weapons, but their shamans are magically powerful and they have a great variety of national summons.

Race: Human. Military: Very cheap. Skilled but poorly-equipped light infantry. Magic: Diverse. Primarily Water, Air, Nature and Blood. Versatile national summons. Priests: Average.

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/831fb8inukpreview.png

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

This looks very interesting! The theme sounds very cool - I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.

The sprites have a nice dominionsy look to them. If I had to make a suggestion, I'd say that the flesh colour looks a bit pink. I'd recommend copying and pasting bits of flesh from some of KO's sprites to get the colour.

Also, a couple of things I'd suggest are very helpful in making sprites. Firstly, Bunsaber assembled spite dumps of all of KO's sprites, which I find absolutely invaluable. Second, he wrote a sprite-making tutorial which is interesting and can give a very good route to good sprites.

If you have any modding questions, either graphical or coding, do ask! There's lots of expertise here, and even more on the other forum.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Needs more polar bears. :p

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Thank you for the advice! I've already been following Burnsaber's tutorial, and all these sprites so far have been frankensteined from other units using the dumps you mentioned.

Well, I do have one question... :p

Is is possible to use Blood Vengeance as an effect granted by a spell? Initially I was planning on having a recruitable BV troop, but then I realised how overpowered that would be (just place a small block in front of an army, watch as enemy archers annihilate themselves), so I've decided to go with using a battlefield spell instead.

I'm planning on adding Nanuk (or Nanook as it's spelt over here) as either a Pretender God or a unique summon, so fear not for polar bears! :D

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

What it really needs are some killer penguins ;) (even if they really don't fit all that well)

The mod looks pretty fun so far though, like the sprites, so keep up the good work!

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Urm...it's "normally" a spell effect. See:

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Blood_Vengeance

If you're using DrP's excellent spell modding resource, it's effect number 744 in the "Really Raw Data" tab but not listed in the regular spell effects tab, so I assume that means that it's not easily accessible to add to spells created de novo. However, you might be able to copyspell it and modify whatever other effects you want on top of it.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Haha, I completely forgot there was a spell for it - I thought it was just an innate characteristic for things like Kurgi. Thanks for reminding me, this will definitely make things easier!

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I don't think Blood Vengeance would be impossible to balance, it all depends on what kind of unit you're going to put it on...

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Progress!

Angakkuq:

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/f2bd0aangakkuq.png

In-game description: The chief shaman of a village is known as an Angakkuq. He has learnt the language of spirits and earned a familiar or Tuurngaq who grants him extraordinary power. Stories tell of Angakkuq who have been stabbed or shot point-blank and received no wound through the protection of their spirit companion. Their magical prowess is also hugely increased by their shared knowledge, although every spirit imparts different secrets and so they have diverse skills.

Info:
Strong mage with many powerful magic paths and guaranteed N2.
Auto-casts Personal Luck in battle.
Recuperates.
Starts with old age, although nature picks may negate this.
Has a 10% chance of preventing bad events in his province.

Notes:

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/22e5dcrandompaths.png

This guy is intended to be your go-to mage on the battlefield. Right now he's very cheap and powerful, but balancing is for later when people have tested these guys out - i'm still in the 'cool concepts' stage at the moment.

Ilisitsok:

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/71b356ilisitsok.png

An Ilisitsok is an Angakkuq who has succumbed to temptation and made a pact with evil Tuurngait spirits. After the barbaric act of sacrificing his own spirit animal and wearing their flesh made whole, the demonic spirits have granted him incredible protection and magics. Anyone striking the evil shaman will have their attack twisted and turned on themselves. Such power comes at a price, however. A man's body cannot contain such darkness for long and the Ilisitsok are prone to exhaustion. Additionally, the Tuurngait spirits with whom he has collaborated still thirst for vengeance and if the shaman is wounded, they may possess him in his moment of weakness and charge screaming at the enemy. Children will go missing at night in any province the Ilisitsok resides.

Info:
Powerful blood mage with 4B and 1N, along with 25% chance of an extra 1B.
Blood Vengeance +0.
Gains 10 fatigue every round.
Kills 10 population every turn.
Usually starts with old age.
Berserker +1.

Notes:

A recruitable B4 mage is going to be huge for blood hunting, but again he will either be A) very expensive or B) have his paths toned down a little.

Feedback appreciated! :)

I also have a question:

If a scout or other stealthy unit has Gluttony, will they take supplies from enemy provinces they are hidden in? I'm pondering the use of 'hunger spirits' that have Gluttony 1000 or similar to starve out enemy armies.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

This looks really good :).

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

After some feedback from another forum I have made the following changes to the Angakkuq:

- Reduced MR and Precision to 11 from 16 and 14 respectively
- Removed recuperation
- Nerfed random picks to 100% AWND and 2x 25% AWND

I also reduced the Ilisitsok from B4 w/ 25% +B1 to B2 w/ 50% +B1.

I should have another unit done by tonight! Stay tuned :)

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I think MR for mages is normally higher than 11. Check some random mage - I seem to remember that maybe 14 or 15 is typical.

If you want the Ilisitock to be excellent at blood hunting without having B4 you can give him a douse bonus. Each point of douse bonus is equivalent to one level of blood magic so far as blood hunting is concerned.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Something just occurred to me: If your Ilisitok gains 10 fatigue every round, he will die in any long battle (fatigue reaches 200 and then he'll take hp damage).

If he gains 7 fatigue each round then he will last a long time (15 turns to get over 100 fatigue, and then another 50 turns with his fatigue increasing by 7 and then decreasing by 5 every turn).

A more complicated alternative (probably unnecessarily complicated):
- #reinvigoration -5 (i.e. gains 5 fatigue a turn)
- Give him a #onebattlespell which deals 5 fatigue damage a turn to him for say 10 turns. (I haven't tested this but think it will be possible).

So then he will have exhaustion 10 for the first 10 turns, and 5 thereafter; he'll rapidly fall asleep but won't die.

Oh, I just thought of a far easier and also more thematic option - just give him very high encumbrance, say 15. So he will quickly exhaust himself if he does anything. This makes more sense than just gaining fatigue even when he doesn't do anything (how did he manage to be awake at the start of the battle if he is always gaining fatigue?).

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Something just occurred to me: If your Ilisitok gains 10 fatigue every round, he will die in any long battle (fatigue reaches 200 and then he'll take hp damage).

If he gains 7 fatigue each round then he will last a long time (15 turns to get over 100 fatigue, and then another 50 turns with his fatigue increasing by 7 and then decreasing by 5 every turn).

A more complicated alternative (probably unnecessarily complicated):
- #reinvigoration -5 (i.e. gains 5 fatigue a turn)
- Give him a #onebattlespell which deals 5 fatigue damage a turn to him for say 10 turns. (I haven't tested this but think it will be possible).

So then he will have exhaustion 10 for the first 10 turns, and 5 thereafter; he'll rapidly fall asleep but won't die.

Oh, I just thought of a far easier and also more thematic option - just give him very high encumbrance, say 15. So he will quickly exhaust himself if he does anything. This makes more sense than just gaining fatigue even when he doesn't do anything (how did he manage to be awake at the start of the battle if he is always gaining fatigue?).

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I was under the impression that negative reinvig never gaused hit point damage - at least, it doesn't hurt Clockwork Horrors.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Ah, that's interesting.

I think you could still probably argue that high encumbrance is more thematic. Why would the spirits start exhausting the Ilisitok only once the battle starts? (Presumably clockwork horrors are wound up at the start of battle and then released).

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Well, for one thing, encumbrance doesn't matter if you give them a ranged weapon... but that isn't something that shouldn't be balance around.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

You know, you're right, that does fit the concept better. Thanks!

New unit tonight. Promise :D

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Well that went quicker than anticipated...

A new national summon!

New spell: Summon Qalupalik

The spirit of a drowned woman is lured into service with the promise of children to steal and call her own. The Qalupalik is stealthy and amphibious.

Paths: 1D 1W
Gems: 3x Death gem

Qalupalik:

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/92349cqalupalik.png

In-game description: Qalupalik are the ghostly spirits of drowned women that live underwater near the shore where they can steal away human children and raise them as their own. They have long black hair, green skin and long fingernails. They are constantly humming and it is said the sound will tell you when one is near. Children will go missing at night in any province the Qalupalik resides.

Info:
Stealthy +0
Amphibious
Undead
Ethereal
Kills 10 population per turn in her province.

Notes: A nice and flavourful unit based on the Inuit child's story :) Intended to be a low-level summon for underwater scouting.

Oh, and before I forget and have to triple-post...

Other changes:

Removed the population death from the Ilisitsok and gave it to the new unit.
Removed exhaustion from the Ilisitsok and replaced with Encumbrance 10.
Removed the magical invisible hood from the Angakkuq. :p

Gosh, it's getting hard to remember all these crazy Inuit names...

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Looks great! Is the Qalupalik a commander?

I think it should be "in any province where the Qalupalik resides" or "in any province in which the Qalupalik resides".

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Yup!

Good catch, thank you.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I suggest the Ilitsok to cause unrest, both for thematic reasons and to tone down his blood hunting effectiveness without lowering blood path.

And this mod looks supercool!

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I've run into a bit of a problem.

The Kajutaijuq, a new national summon, was going to be introduced tonight.

In-game description: The Kajutaijuq is a massive female spirit with an enormous head resting upon two stumpy legs ending in three splayed toes. Thunder strikes wherever she walks and she takes great pleasure in devouring lone Inuk and other unsuspecting victims. Her presence is said to be indicated by streaks of bad luck, strange sounds in the night and broken tools.

Info:
50 hp
Size 4
Ethereal
Undead
Trampler
Amphibious
Stealthy +20
Assassin
Incurs 5 unrest a turn
Only has a head and foot slot

Notes:
Flavour! Intended to be a mid-to-high level summon for assassinations and thuggery. The lack of slots should prevent her from reaching true SC status. I'm thinking maybe the HP is too high for an assassin because it basically dooms any human-sized or low-damage commander to die - does anyone have any feedback on what else they'd like to see added?



Now for the problem - I can't make a good sprite for this darn thing. There are no good 'large head' sprites in the game - the Colossal Head is the closest thing, and I've spent hours trying to get it to look good with everything from titan feet to Shambler legs. I'm still not confident enough to make a sprite from scratch, so I'm turning to you guys for some help.

Could I possibly get some advice on A) where to find a big head for spriting purposes? Or, if someone feels so inclined, B) if somebody could maybe knock up a sprite for me to use in the mod. I hate to scrounge off you guys but I love the story behind this unit and I don't want such a cool concept to go to waste :(

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

I can give it a try. What size do you want it and any specifics on what you want it to look like?

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Thank you! As it says in the description, it should have a giant head along with a pair of stumpy little legs. Size should be... well, roughly whatever size 4 units look like, I suppose. The unit's meant to be ethereal like a ghost, so if you could do it in the same palette as one of those then that'd be good.

Again, thank you for the help!

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Are you thinking something along the lines of the Baphomet the giant fiery head, or with hair? and front view of the face or the side?

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Side view. I think hair would be good, yes.

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Dingaling, another national summon. These are so fun to make!

The Mahaha

http://www.cubeupload.com/files/37bd8cmahaha.png

In-game description: Sometimes dead bodies are found in the ice, their frozen faces locked into smiles. They have fallen victim to the Mahaha, a maniacal demon that terrorises villages. It has pale skin, long straggly black hair and pure-white eyes. It slays its unfortunate enemies by tickling them to death with its vicious poisonous claws. The Mahaha always cackling and grinning and it can be quite demoralising to fight such an unsettling opponent.

Info:
45 HP.
Demon.
'Tickle' attack that has two attacks and does 10 stun damage. This stays with him whichever weapon he has equipped.
Fear +0.
Normal slots.
Kills 10 population a turn.

Notes: Your basic thug chassis, this time a Blood summon. Another unit with the flavourful population death mechanic, which doesn't really have an in-game effect, but I feel it nicely represents the harsh environment and fear the Inuk live in.

http://imgur.com/dbr00.jpg
(credit for image goes to www.inuitmyths.com)

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

Any news on this mod? I'm looking forward to it!

Re: Inuk, Land of Ice and Spirits
 

This is too much. Consider he starts taking damage when he hits 200 fatigue.

Give him high innate enc, and maybe one point of exhaustion if you're feeling nasty. That's bad enough for a mage.

/edit

Oops, I didn't notice the 2 other pages of discussion. Clearly this was brought up long ago.


To add something useful here, I suggest giving the mahaha only one or no arm slots, since it always keeps the tickle attacks. Extra attacks can become very unbalancing if you can use all magic item slots.