Ages: some thoughts for the future/past

[HoneyBadger]

This started out as just a post to the Themes thread, but it grew and grew, and it's still growing, so I figure since my posts tend to turn into novels, I'd create a separate thread for this idea.
I'm hoping that by Dominions 4 there will be 5 ages, rather than just 3-and since it's going to take me a while to write up my idea for 3 ages expanded into 5, I'm going to start with the first age.
My idea for the names of the five ages would be: The Dawning Age, Age of Miracles, Age of Empires, Age of Iron and Gold, and Age of Reason.

The Dawning Age:
Technology is Late stoneage through copper to early bronze age, low magic as peoples first start coming together into nations (IRL something approximating the conditions between 12,500-6000 years ago). Undead always have stone weapons and no metal armor. Research ability would be very slow in this age, with low-powered mages overall, but national summons would include some of the most powerful summoned creatures, primordial monsters to contest the pretenders themselves in a battle between order and chaos.

Nations of this age would reflect creation myths along the lines of Bahumet and Tiamat of ancient Babylonia, the Sumerian cycle, the great flood/antideluvian Christian occultism, and the civilizations which fought the great Hindu myth-wars, and early Egyptian dynasty mythos.
These would contest alongside primordial races (perhaps H.P. Lovecraft's Great Old Ones. A Thri-kreen(Tohr-kreen) type race. Celestial Enforcers-a race of lifeless golem-type beings of various forms-including huge Maruts made of basalt and black steel who do poison damage as an area effect-constructed by divine beings to maintain universal law and powered by astral magic. A race of universal shapeshifters who eventually become Pangaea. Fomorians-misshapen giants with extra or extra large bodyparts and strange/powerful abilities who serve both death and nature and precede even Tir na'n Og. A gibbering mouther/shuggoth/various Beholdertype-race, possibly led by Astral Dreadnoughts (one eyed giants with crab-claws and massive fanged mouths who use astral magic), who serve primordial chaos and are opposed to the Celestial Enforcers.).

Some possible Pretender forms for this age: Hecatonchire (adapted from Greek myth)-a giant with 3 heads, 6 arms, and 4 legs which has air magic 1 and earth magic 1, new paths cost 75. Eater of the Dead-a massive armored amphibious crocodile who spreads disease and can bite several opponents at once in a small area effect, death magic 3, new paths cost 60. Fomorian King-a Fomorian giant (available to the Fomorian race only) with a cursing gaze attack, nature 1, death 1, new paths cost 50. Mother of Chaos-(pretender available to the Beholder-race only) a huge beholder with no magic paths (additional paths cost 75) who can nevertheless cast the following spells as special abilities: Paralyze, Spirit Curse, Decay, Disintegrate, Blindness, Sleep. The spell is cast 1 per round, randomly, at no fatigue cost. Other beholders have similar, lesser abilities. In addition, the Mother causes fear and can bite. She can wear 1 piece of headgear and up to 4 misc. magic items. The Mother of Chaos can move in combat, but is immobile on the map. She gives birth to Gauth, weak beholder-kin who are easily damaged and have no gaze attacks but have high MR and can drain life. The Undine-a spirit of elemental chaos in the form of a living storm. The Undine has the ability to change shape, functioning as either a flying cumulo-nimbus cloud-face which can do area shock damage, or as a living wall of water, similar to a water elemental, with the ability to trample. Both versions are etherial. The Undine has water 1 and air 1 and cannot use magic items. The Copper King-The Copper King sought immortality his entire life but could never achieve it. Finally, on his death-bed he ordered his people to create a tomb which would last the ages, to worship him and to guard that tomb forever, thus embodying in death his immortality. Unfortunately, the tomb was desecrated and his people were conquered and either enslaved or destroyed. The Copper King awoke from death itself to wreak his vengeance on all interlopers and any who might again disturb his sleep. The Copper King is immortal and undead. He has access to death 1 and blood 1. An exception to the undead rule, the Copper King is undead but very well armed indeed, wielding a magic copper spear which causes any it hits to be disintegrated as the spell unless they save vs MR. The Nephilim is a half angel, half giant with 50% fire immunity but 50% cold susceptibility. Winged and strong in combat, the Nephilim has fire 1, blood 1, and death 1, additional paths cost 75. The Dawn Hunter is blind. Otherwise weak in combat, he possesses a bow which never misses and which causes all who are struck to save or die. Once just a constellation in the sky, the Dawn Hunter has come down from the heavens. He has astral magic 3, all other paths cost 50. If destroyed, the Dawn Hunter reverts to constellation-form, returning to life the next night.

Just an idea. I think it would take a lot to implement, but it was a lot of fun writing up, too. I'll try to write down my ideas for the other ages as they come to me, but additional thoughts and ideas along this line, or comments about the use of ages in the game itself, are certainly welcome. Thanks for reading!

[Nerfix]

Nice. I myself have been thinking a bit about the future of the world of Dominions, but I'd like to hear your ideas.

[Tortanick]

I myself am more into rewriting the late age, It lost the magic of the first two ages. Naturally the devs did that on purpose but I plan to mod it out

Anyway you seem to be getting into details a bit to early, you should at least have a full set of nations and the overall theme for the age before you worry about details

[HoneyBadger]

Tortanick, I wasn't so much going for giving every last detail and listing every nation, as giving general ideas and guidelines, and leaving the rest open for interpretation/speculation. I'm not the one who's going to be implementing anything-for one, my name is Jonathan, not Kristoffer or Johan, and for another, I understand how programming languages work, but I suck at actual programming, and modding's exercise and tedium for me. The only computer language I ever learned even the basics of was, well...Basic. Ok and also HTML. As far as naming specific nations, and examining each one under the microscope, and then coming up with an overlying "theme" as such for the age, on top of that (microscope to macroscope), I just think it would be somewhat of a waste of time, without the counter-balance of being a lot of fun. I'd be honored ofcourse if Kristoffer and Johan read my ideas and were influenced by them, but I don't expect them to be, and I don't expect everyone else on the board to be waiting for me to come up with new imaginary nations that you can't play with anyway, for an "age" that doesn't even exist in the game. This is just fun for me, and I only take my postings as far as remains fun. If someone wants to mod out something I come up with, let me know in one of the threads I post to, and I'll try to do my part (no promises though). Other than that, this is just an exercise in creative writing and imagination/speculation.