New hero abilities - suggest them all!

[Psitticine]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
Devs and betas,

Originally, Dominions II was going to have a variable-length Hero list, so that instead of a maximum 10 heroes (like in DomI, where it was always dominated by Pretenders and mercs) you could have 15 or 20 heroes at a time. Is this still in?

Thanks!

-Cherry

Do you mean the Hall of Fame list? If so, then, yes, it can be set to different lengths in Dom II. Pretenders still appear on it regularly, and mercenaries tend to dominate it during the early game, but the commanders eventually pass up the mercs. Those mercenary company leaders aren't really all that and a bag of chips when it comes to life expectancy.

(It's a hard life being a freelancer.)

[Sandman]

Critical strike: The hero gains a % chance to deal triple damage with each attack.

Reflect missiles: The hero can reflect missiles back to their origin. Higher levels affect a larger area, so a poweful hero could be able to protect a sizeable portion of his army.

Magical bonus: The hero recieves a bonus in an area of magic they are already proficient in.

Mirror image: The hero has several mirror images. They have full defensive abilities, but limited attacking skills.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by Psitticine:
Do you mean the Hall of Fame list? If so, then, yes, it can be set to different lengths in Dom II.

Yeah, that's what I meant. Great! I love having tons of heroes; I'll always set it to maximum.

-Cherry

[Saber Cherry]

Heroic Tentacles: Upon slaying a foul kraken, the commander's open wounds are exposed to dying gouts of mollusk blood. Soon after, he sprouts tentacles from his body. Initially 3 tentacles of length 2 and 8 damage (does not add wielder's strength), the tentacles increase in number, length, and damage with heroic ability. These tentacles are autonomous, and not controlled by the commander - so each can strike any adjacent square, regardless of what the commander is doing, even if he is rendered unconscious.

-Cherry

[ October 17, 2003, 07:33: Message edited by: Saber Cherry ]

[Saber Cherry]

Legendary Compassion: For sparing the lives of wounded enemies left strewn on the battleground - bandaging them that they might return safely home, to fight no more - this hero's name has spread in whispers across the land, as being the general who could conquer without cruelty. Any province captured by an army including this hero has initial unrest decreased by 50%, an amount that increases with heroic ability.

-Cherry

[Pocus]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
Heroic Tentacles: Upon slaying a foul kraken, the commander's open wounds are exposed to dying gouts of mollusk blood. Soon after, he sprouts tentacles from his body. Initially 3 tentacles of length 2 and 8 damage (does not add wielder's strength), the tentacles increase in number, length, and damage with heroic ability. These tentacles are autonomous, and not controlled by the commander - so each can strike any adjacent square, regardless of what the commander is doing, even if he is rendered unconscious.

-Cherry

too realistic. we are in a heroic fantasy game, remember.

[Nerfix]

Originally posted by Pocus:
too realistic. we are in a heroic fantasy game, remember.

LOL!


[ October 17, 2003, 15:32: Message edited by: Nerfix ]

[Mortifer]

Infernal Power: The hero will gain +4 str, also there will be a 25% chance that the hero will kill any holy troop at first hit.

[ October 17, 2003, 15:35: Message edited by: Mortifer ]

[PvK]

Some amusing ideas here. Most seem more like ideas for specific super-creatures rather than heroic abilities of normal units, and many of the proposed values seem a lot higher than comparabele Doms I values.

How about a Charisma and/or Orator ability that increases leadership slightly, and reduces unrest in a province slightly without patrolling.

PvK

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by PvK:
Some amusing ideas here. Most seem more like ideas for specific super-creatures rather than heroic abilities of normal units, and many of the proposed values seem a lot higher than comparable Doms I values.

Huh, so you're saying... you think 2 tentacles of length 1 would be more appropriate? I don't know if you could even call them "tentacles" then

Sure, most of my suggestions were more for amusement than utility, but unless you get a heroic ability on a supercombattant, I find that they don't affect strategic power balance much, since individual units are so expendable. Whereas in Greek mythology, there were thousands of soldiers slaughtered... nameless... while the heroes waded through, unaffected by mere humans. No battle was decided by soldiers - it was the clash of two heroes that caused a victory or defeat. Even if Dom II heroes had 2x the power of Dom I heroes, I don't see Dominions wars becoming remotely like mythological wars.

By the way, have you read the descriptions of the Artifact-level magic items? Those things make heroic abilities (except maybe Grotesque Gluttony) look like black-belt Karate skill compared to nuclear weapons. It's a fun read, if you haven't!

So, you need to modify your suggestions and make them stronger! MORE POWER!!! Orator should DEAFEN ENTIRE ENEMY ARMIES!!! Charisma should WIN THE GAME INSTANTLY BY MAKING ALL THE WORLD'S POPULATION JOIN THE HERO'S ARMY!!! HEROIC STRENGTH SHOULD LET THE HERO HOLD THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS, LIKE HERACLES, AND RIP IT IN TWAIN ON A WHIM!!!

-Cherry