Haida Gwaii Mod (This round of beta closed)

[HoneyBadger]

Foodstamp, I hope you don't mind that I'm taking my time with your mod. I'm low on personal time anyway so I kind of have to juggle things. In return, I'll see if I can find or draw a nice Orca unit, and maybe come up with another idea for an aquatic or amphibious summons.

[Foodstamp]

No no, take your time. The great thing about modding for games is the lack of a deadline. The "to do" list I have made so far is just what I have processed from feedback I have received. As I get more feedback, that list will be revised and/or added to.

If you could find or create an orca sprite, I would be deeply indebted.

[HoneyBadger]

Here you go, 1 orka. I didn't do the artwork, I just captured a screen of an Orca miniature, changed the size, blackscreened it, and cleaned it up a little, but it's not too bad-a little rough around the edges, and you'll probably want to modify it some to create a second image, but it should be a good head-start for you. Just convert to .tga

[Shovah32]

Nice image badger, hope to see it in soon .

[Foodstamp]

I am terrible when it comes to sprites, but I will see if I can make a passable Orca with it. Thanks HoneyB.

[HoneyBadger]

Ok, so far I really like what you've done.

A couple of things though-I think coyote should be sacred.

It wouldn't be too bad of an idea to have a third recruitable national sacred, if you're leaning that way over summons (see below)-maybe a moose, off the top of my head, since they're in the game already, or a raven.

Killer whale summon would help a lot, as would a second, high-level commander-bear summon, maybe something along the lines of a sacred were-bear shaman. I'm also thinking maybe a were-raven summonable mage with access to some death magic, since ancient Native Americans often communed with various spirits, including the spirits of their ancestors. I'd really like to see lots of summons for Haida, especially low level sacred animal summons.

For that matter, I'd really like to see more nation-specific Pretenders. The two you have are great, but more would really be nice.

I was concerned that Moksgmol would be too powerful under a bless effect-and they are powerful, but I don't think unbalanced at the start of the game. They may become so, though, in longer games, with a high Dom and a Nature 9 bless. I think they'd make a better level 1 or level 2 summon, personally, but the loss of them would leave the Haida rather weak. Maybe if you had raven, coyote, and a third relatively weak but sacred animal as recruitables, and then expand on the sacred animals theme into more powerful animals as summonables.

I have a feeling too that the Haida are likely to have other mythological beings besides animals that would make fine summons.

I'm not that familiar with the mythological and historical origins of this mod, but I love the flavor, and I want more. What you have is terrific, and the various parts are excellently crafted, it just doesn't feel quite done yet.

I will try to look into the legends of the Haida, so that I can suggest some beings who might be appropriate, and if you need more artwork, I'll be happy to help supply it.

In closing (and I'll continue to play and post about Haida), I'm a greedy, dissatisfied, bitter old gamer, and proud of it

[Foodstamp]

I am glad your enjoying the mod. In the next version of the beta, expect a return of the Sacred Coyote!

I am kicking around the idea of adding another recruitable animal unit, something amphibious for the Voice of the Killer Whales to lead around. I will consider making that guy sacred if it fits thematically.

I am open to suggestions for a 3rd pretender. I created the two that are currently in the mod a few months ago. At the time my goal was to create a support/bless chasis and a middle of the road pretender. I think the Crest Pole and the Raven serve those roles well.

The Moksgmol being powerful is one of the strengths of Haida Gwaii. If you think that guy is powerful, wait until you summon the Frenzied Moksgmol who may be getting bumped up to sacred status next beta.

The mythologies of the various peoples this mod represents is a bit too broad for me to sum up in one post. But let me try to give you a gist of the backbone of their beliefs:


Their people are divided through a moiety system, meaning they trace their lineage back to two distinct sources, the Raven and the Eagle. Different families believe they are descended from different animals and there are strict rules about who you can marry etc. based upon which moiety your particular animal is part of.

This belief system is a recurring theme in their fables. Animals take on human characteristics and are just as an important in the stories as the human characters.


The first obvious place to look for information on the Haida in particular is Wikipedia, but surprisingly there is not much there about their people.

I would suggest doing a google search for the following terms as well:

"Potlatch"
"Raven steals the sun"
"Haida fish carver"
"Haida weapons"

These searches should yield some websites with information to help you see where I am coming from in this mod.

I should add that the nation is named for the Haida, but it contains atleast one element that is not Haida at all, and that is the Kachina.

The Kachina comes from Pueblo beliefs and I worked the idea into this mod because I don't think the Kachina is ever going to work its way into a Dominions mod any other way because I doubt anyone is going to do a Pueblo mod

Thanks for the great feedback, I hope the links and terms to search for yield some good results if you are interested in learning more about the Haida or any of the First tribes.