New Pretenders?
 

I would like to know few things about the ne Pretenders in Dominions II:
What are Divine Emperor like, Ghost King and Vampire Queen like?
Anything other intresting new Pretenders?
Does Vanheim have a giant wolf pretender?
Does Pangaea have an "Ancient Lord"(y'know a huge, evil, inteligent minotaur-dragon hybrid Carrion Beast) pretender?
(IW, i know the cost was straigth towards *BLEEP* but it was those days when screenshots told me that Carrion Wood theme costs 150 design points...)

Re: New Pretenders?
 

I heard about a half-dragon/half-demon pretender: Mortifer!

Er but maybe my infos are fake. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Here are a few of my favorite Pretenders . . .

(Damn, if I get that damn song in my head now . . . )

Anyway, some of these may be present in Dom I, so please pardon any redundancy. I have lists of what spells and items are new, but don't have anything listing which Pretenders have been added. This is also nowhere near a complete list. Even though I've been playing and playing and playing, there are still so many Pretender options that I haven't had a chance to sample them all. Here are some of my favs though, along with the specific ones you're asking about:

The ***** Queen: An ancient werewolf alpha-***** who receives support from her pack during combat. She can appear either as the Crone (with full spell-casting powers) or transform instantly (and will do so automatically if wounded in melee) into her Werewolf form (which comes with terrific combat abilities).

The Lichs: There are several varieties of Lich, including a Sauromancer Lich. They may be highly flamable, but they're awesome as long as nobody has a match. Their magic combined with their immortality means they really can dominate a battlefield.

The Allfather: There's no Fenrir Ulf Pretender I know of, unfortunately (although you can wear his pelt as an item http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ). Wotan himself makes an appearance, however. He comes with Air and Death magic, a flying eight-legged horse, only one eye, and is stealthy.

The Phoenix: Immortal fire-bird. OK, it's a bird thing, but I love the Phoenix. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

The Ghost King: Equipped with a Rod of Death and with a legion of ghosts that appear when his Dominion is strong, he's back to reclaim his old turf. Let's hope Nixon doesn't try the same thing!

The Vampire Queen: Ethereal, flying, and much tougher than that poser Elizabeth of Batheny, she has vampires who will appear to aid her within her Dominion. She's also immortal, stealthy, and regenerates!

The Lord of the Wild: This may be who you are thinking of for Pangaea, or possibly his descendent in the design process. He is a bit tired of this failed experiment called "civilization" and has decided to put an end to it. He attracts maenids in huge numbers and has Blood and Nature magic. He also is stealthy and a beserker. Oh, and he has an awesome set of antlers. Cernunnos is back, and he's spoiling for a Wild Hunt!

The Freak Lord: He's pretty much like the archmage (10 points per magic path) but he rides a giant Freak that changes from nation to nation. He's a super freak, super freak, he's super freaky! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

The Jade Emperor: You can see him in one of the screenshots just added. He's the big fellow in the Chinese robes. He is the ruler of T'ien Ch'i and comes equipped with suitable powers. He's a nice balance between the pure magic types like the archmage and the heavy combat types like the wyrm.

The Monolith: I'm throwing this one in for my partner, the Giraffe. She won her first game with the Monolith, which is a powerful but immobile rock. It's a big rock. It's a smart rock. It will, it will . . . ROCK YOU! (OK, that's over the line, but I couldn't help it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif ) Big time magical skills and near-indestructability neatly balance out the fact it can't move until you research Teleport and the like for it.

A half-dragon, half-demon Pretender isn't ringing a bell right now, but I could easily be overlooking somebody. Possibily somebody from a specific nation?

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Eh, I was just dreaming. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Mortifer the Cruel [half-dragon/half-demon]! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

PS. I love these pretenders, especially the Ghost King/Vampire Queen.

PS2. The ***** Queen -> Isn't ***** a foul word? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
[You meant witch queen maybe?]

[ September 30, 2003, 16:13: Message edited by: Mortifer ]

Re: New Pretenders?
 

I could post "Ancient Lord", a Pretender i designed, with the corrections if anybody is intrested...

[ September 30, 2003, 16:56: Message edited by: Nerfix ]

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Feel free! Dunno if it'd ever make into the game or anything, but I'm sure everybody would be interested in seeing it!

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Still no one-eyed pyramid?

Re: New Pretenders?
 

I'm currently playing with Vampire Queen and I must say she is SOMETHING! Aside from the fact that she's immortal, the vampires that show up are also immortal! Add to that all the benefits of undead, death and blood magic and mix them with right race (Tien Chi in this case) and you get stew ... err … nasty combo. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Another good pretender:

Lord of the Desert Sun: It’s giant with Lion Head that lives far from civilization and desert is his realm. Has fire immunity, starts with fire level 2 and nature level 1. Additional effect is that at each battle 4 great lions will come to his aid (doesn't matter if he’s fighting in his own dominion). This bad boy shows only for Machaka and Abyssia and he is the one responsible for romping 500 kills with Fire Darts mostly (from another post). When I play with him I usually get 100 kills in first 10 turns. He costs 125 points so you need to be careful when distributing points, but since both Abyssia and Machaka prefer Heat scales, you will get some points back there.

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Ok, here is my suggested god:

Ancient Lord
New god for Pangaea(meant to be used with the Carrion Woods theme)
Costs 75* points
Looks like a giant two headed Minotaur Carrion Beast with another head of a dragon and with 4 arms.

Automaticaly summons several (1-4) Carrion Beast in a turn**.

The ancient lord is a embodiement of forces that have slept since man came. Now it has woken up and seeks to crush those who have forgotten the nature and it's incredible forces. The Ancient Lord has incorporated many mighty and dead beings to his body of vines and moss. He is skilled user of nature and death magic and also a formidable fighter.

Pretender god, Undead, Fear(-3), Inanimate*** and Poison Immunity

Magic:Nature 2, Death 2,other paths cost 30

HP:55
Prot:5
Str:16
Att:11
Def:10
Mr:19
Ap:16
Enc:0
Fat:0
Prec:12
Mrl:50
Ldr:
Normal:50
Undead:75
Magic:20
Size:Same as minotaur(4?)
(has 2 head slots and 4 arm slots, if the flexible item slots are still in the game...)

Weapons:
Sleep Vines
Sleep Vines
Claws
Bite

* Unsure about the cost
** Carrion Beasts don't seem to be so migthy, but if i am wrong, please correct me...
*** Are Manikins/Mandagoras/Carrion Beasts Inanimate? If not, then this one isn't either.

So, what do you think? Input is more than welcome.

[ September 30, 2003, 19:59: Message edited by: Nerfix ]

Re: New Pretenders?
 

Nerfix,

I never thought about 2 head and 4 hand slots before! Will this be in Dominions II?

That could get a bit crazy if you load him up with items (I guess that's the point). 4 cumulative swords of quickness? Druid Kings Crown and Amon Hotep?

Would he have no boot slot because his feet are a mass of roots and bones?