Mod: Grey Elf Mod

[RedRover]

As a fan of fantasy RPGs and generic fantasy in general, I thought I’d try my hand at setting up a mod based on the Grey Elves. They are generally considered to be the most civilized, most intelligent, and most magical of the elf races. Fans of Tolkien would probably call them Sindar.

Like many modders, I don’t do graphics well (even success in capturing existing sprites has eluded me so far). It would be useful if a list of tga file names for existing sprite 1s was available, so I could cobble together a functional alpha, but barring this, I’m approaching the head-wall-banging stage of the graphics learning curve.

Translating the Grey Elves into the Dominions 2 Game: Since Grey Elves are a mountain-dwelling race, allied with aerial creatures such as giant eagles/hippogriffs/griffins, the Grey Elf mod would replace Caelum in the general nation lineup.

Since this may be the first of several connected mods (including other elf races—there was a Greyhawk mod thread some time back with which this would be compatible), the first step is to make a baseline elf race. Grey Elves would be a specific variant of that base, Wood Elves would be another, and so on. To make the elves compatible with Dominions 2, the baseline elf race should be a variation of the base human race.

In this post, I will develop a baseline elf race and sketch out Grey Elf national troops. Next time, I’ll have specific values for Dominions 2 Grey Elf units.

Developing a Grey Elf Baseline

Key to Abbreviations: hp=hit points, sz=size, prot=protection, mor=morale, mr=magic resistance, enc=encumbrance, str=strength, att=attack, def=defence, prec=precision, move=strategic move, ap=action points/tactical move. The unit’s protection value depends on the armor assigned, and some weapons modify it as well. Equipment often causes variation in protection, encumbrance and defense values.

Baseline Man:
hp=10, sz=2, prot=0, mor=10, mr=10, enc=3, str=10, att=10, def=10, prec=10, move=2, ap=12
Special Abilities=none

In comparison to men, elves are generally considered to be more magical (+1 mr), have lesser strength and slighter build (-1 str, -1 hp), have greater dexterity (+1 def, +1 prec), and have about the same move (2mv/12ap). They also have more class (which I’ll translate as +1 mor). While many elves are forest dwellers, not all are, so I’ll hold off on giving them forest survival or stealth ability for now. Thus, we have:

Baseline Elf:
hp=9, sz=2, prot=0, mor=11, mr=11, enc=3, str=9, att=10, def=11, prec=11, move=2, ap=12
Special Abilities=none

Baseline Grey Elf:
hp=9, sz=2, prot=0, mor=11, mr=12, enc=3, str=9, att=10, def=11, prec=11, move=2, ap=12
Special Abilities=Elf Chain, Hippogriff Mounts, Mountain Survival, Mage Research Bonus +1

Special Notes:
-The increase in magic resistance and the mage research bonus are a function of the superior intelligence and magical nature of Grey Elves in comparison to other elves. Other elf races in general won’t have these bonuses.

-Grey Elves are mountain dwellers, so they receive mountain survival.

-Grey Elves ride hippogriffs or griffins according to RPG sources. Since the the Amazons already have a griffin-rider, I’ll use hippogriffs, and consider griffins as possible guard beasts.

-Grey Elves are least stealthy of the elves, so any scouts or raiders would be allies, not Grey Elves.

-Grey Elves tend to be taller than other elves, closer to human size. My call on that is that it’s not enough to overcome the base elf penalties to hp and str.

-Of all the elf races, Grey Elves are most likely to have cities/mountain citadels and developed technology. Thus, they have better armor than other elf races. In particular, most of their fighting strength wears special elf chain mail.

-Since we are placing Grey Elves into Caelum’s niche, magic weapons for the Grey Elves should be considered. There is evidence from the tabletop wargame origins of RPGs that elves on the battlefield should be armed with magic weapons. After careful consideration, I add a weapon, the Elf Blade, which will be a magic Broad Sword, basically.

My translation of elf chain mail into Dominions 2 terms looks something like this:

Elf Chain modifiers: prot=+1, def=+1, enc= -1

The good news is that this modifies the Chain Cuirass, Chain Hauberk, and Full Chain Mail armors, making them better than the standard.
The bad news is that this is as heavy as national elf armor gets. Other elf races may have elf chain for their elite units, but only the Grey Elves can make it in sufficient quantity for an entire army.

A few other translation notes are needed when going from RPG sources to Dominions 2.

Longsword => Broad Sword
Bastard Sword => Falchion

What I mean is that a translation of the RPG weapon into Dominions 2 terms would give game stats so close to the listed Dominions 2 weapon as to be functionally the same.

Setting Up the Grey Elf Nation
The core Grey Elf unit is a mailed archer with a composite bow mounted on a hippogriff. Elite units are hippogriff-mounted knights armed with lances. The hippogriffs are exceptionally fierce and loyal, and will continue to fight if the rider is slain.

-Storm Riders: Mounted on hippogriffs, armed with composite bows, wearing elf chain.

-Storm Knights: Mounted on hippogriffs, armed with lances and kite shields, wearing elf chain.

Most other Grey Elf units guard the homeland. In addition to a few generic elf militia units for province defense, three types of foot units should cover the Grey Elf ground forces.

-Grey Elf Warders. Spear-and-javelin infantry in elf chain. Regular, steady, close formation troops.

-Grey Elf Archers. These carry composite bows, wear elf chain, and fight in regular formations. Most other types of elves use short bows or long bows, the composite bow is a specific national weapon for the Grey Elves.

-Citadel Guards. Capital-only elite heavy infantry, comparable to the Emerald Guard of Pythium or the Heart Guard of Arcoscephale (elfophiles note: I did not say “superior to”).

And special units, three of them:

-Guard Griffin. Sacred, capital-only guard beast.

-Wind Dancers. Winged Elf female warriors. Sacred, twin scimitars, shock resistant=50, and can fly during storms. Lots of fun, but fragile. Consider making this capital only, depending on national balance and how effective the unit specials are.

-Large Eagles. These allies scout and raid for the Grey Elves. They operate with low-order stealth that is not typical of the base animal type. They are nearly human size, but too small for human-sized creatures to use as mounts.

Winged Elf baseline:
hp=9, sz=3, prot=0, mor=11, mr=11, enc=4, str=9, att=10, def=9, prec=11, move=3, ap=8
Special Abilities: Fly, Mountain Survival

The wings give +1 sz, +1 enc, –2 def. The low ap represents their mobility when grounded. In addition, because the Winged Elves are not Grey Elves, their MR is only 11, and any Winged Elf mages would not get a research bonus.

The Grey Elf leader line-up looks something like this:

-Winged Elf Scout. Scimitar and Buckler, Elf Chain, but noleader. Slight stealth boost.

-Storm Rider Captain. An ok leader for normal patrols and forays. Storm Rider equipment.

-Storm Knight Lord. A good leader for large punitive expeditions. Storm Knight equipment.

-Storm Mage. A powerful Air/Water mage, she is mounted on a hippogriff.

-Storm Mage Initiate. A weak Air/? apprentice mage, she walks.

-Wind Temple Priestess. Winged Elf average priest with a little Air magic. Consider making this capital only, depending on national balance and how effective the unit specials are.

-War Eagle. Stealth leader for eagles.

Note the absence of a standard. If there was a Citadel Guard commander, I could see building a standard into him, but I don’t think it’s necessary or particularly desirable to have a special unit for the main Grey Elf forces.

And…

-Windships. One Last leader I’m still thinking about how to mod. The Grey Elves (as I’m translating them) would have, as a Dominions 2 nation, giant Windships that they would use for major wars. These would be huge barge-like ships that sail through the air. Very expensive and somewhat fragile, they would ferry the ground troops to distant battles. (This has specific impact on how unit stats are configured, as will be seen next time). While this mod would probably be ok without Windships, I really want to put them in, since they are such a striking thematic unit. In the World of Greyhawk setting, a Windship equivalent might be a unit built following the introduction of Spelljamming ships.

Even though the mod tools don’t exist to do this yet, my preliminary workaround idea is to add a third miscellaneous magic slot to a commander and lock the Airship artifact into it, modding that item so it’s not unique anymore. This is second best for a number of reasons, one of which is that I’d rather Windship capacity be capped at 75 units (or say 150 size-units) and not be open-ended.

Thoughts anyone?

Thus, Windship Captain. Aerial transport commander. Around 75-unit capacity, plus some supplies. Count on taking several turns to construct, maybe something on the order of 600 g/550 res. Captain has minimal Air magic (thematic, only a spell caster can helm a Windship), and has no research capacity at all. I considered capital-only status, but rejected it—the building time is going to make this a large opportunity cost no matter where you build it, and making it capital only would create too much of a production log jam with other capital-only units.

Last Note:
Aside from the Windship unit, modding commands I’d like to see:

#capital—Unit can be built only in capital (yes, I know the standard workaround for this). It would be highly useful not to be bound by that. It’s going to cause compatibility issues down the road.

#fortdef—Unit receives a bonus when defending a fortress (like C’tis City Guard).

#flyinstorm—Unit is not grounded during storms (I realize this is hugely powerful, but it is also highly thematic for one unit in this particular mod).


Next time: Stats. Stats. Stats. I tentatively scribble in new weapon 610, new armors 256-258 and new units 2350-2357 (most of the units actually overwrite Caelum, but some don’t).

[Zen]

RedRover said:
#capital—Unit can be built only in capital (yes, I know the standard workaround for this). It would be highly useful not to be bound by that. It’s going to cause compatibility issues down the road.

I don't want to bash your hopes here, but it isn't quite as easy as this to make a unit Capital only (If only it was it'd probably be implemented). Capital Only units are are tied to the magic sites given to the nation. Until there is a way to modify the magic sites it is impossible to allow capital only troops unless you overwrite a Magic Site Troop (for example, Caelum Temple Guards) with your troop type but it still won't allow you to change the name on the Site. I don't know the likelyhood of Magic Site modding, per say, but I do know that if this were likely to happen it would be *more* likely to happen in Dom3 than Dom2.

[RedRover]

No foul, Zen. Thanks for the reminder about capital sites.

We go with what’s available, and update if it changes.

With two overwritable unit-sites in Caelum, I can make the Citadel Guard and Guard Griffin capital only, which covers the preliminary thematic concerns. That just leaves balance issues, which depend on testing.

If the Wind Dancers need controlling, I can switch them into the Citadel Guard slot, keeping tightest control on the Dancers and Griffins.

Making the priestess capital-only is probably a bad idea, as that would mean the Grey Elf default priest would become just the generic temple priest.

Stats will probably be posted sometime tomorrow.

[RedRover]

This post continues the process of constructing a Grey Elf mod. I suppose it’s time to do a National Summary, so here it is:


National Summary

- Hippogriffs and Large Eagles, Storm Riders and Storm Knights, skilled archers, stealthy flyers, and Windships. Wind Dancer and Guard Griffin sacred units.

- Air and Water spells. Powerful Mages with strong magic.

- Average priests.

- Starting sites and gems: Citadel of Frozen Crystal, Raven Vale, Air 3, Water 2.

Grey Elf Unit-Type Variations
Before going on to the actual stats, here are a number of unit type modifiers I used to get things going. I also crosschecked the preliminary stats these generated with stats of existing (human) units to check on balance and help assign gold/resource costs.

Citadel Guard: +1 hp, +1 att, +1 def, +2 mor
Storm Knight: +1 hp, att +1, +2 mor
Storm Rider: +1 mor
Militia: -1 hp, -1att, -1def, -1 prec, -2 mor, stratmove 1

Fighter Ldr: +1 hp, +1 mor
Major Mage: -1str, -2 att, +1 prec, +4 mr, mor +2
Minor Mage: -1str , -2 att, -1def, +3 mr, mor +1
Priest-type: -1att, +2 mr, +1 mor

On to the stats for new units!

New Weapons

#610 Elf Blade: Dam 6, Att 0, Def 0, Def 1, Len 2, Res 4; Special: Magic

#611 Citadel Elf Spear: Dam 3, Att 0 Def -1 Len 5, Res 3; Special: Magic

I really didn’t want another magic weapon. If I thought the unit would choose to use an Elf Blade where appropriate, I would have equipped the Citadel Guards with it, but it just seems easier at this point to bite the bullet and make a magic spear. This is a nation-specific (actually unit-specific) weapon and won’t be available to non-Grey-Elf nations, including other elves (remember the Grey Elves are the most advanced and most magical of their kind).

New Armor

#255 Elf Chain Cuirass: type=5, def=0, prot=10, enc=0

#256 Elf Chain Hauberk: type=5, def=-1, prot=12, enc=1

#257 Elf Full Chain: type=5, def –2, prot=15, enc=2

Figuring these is just straight mathematics, using the def +1, prot +1, enc –1 modifiers for Elf Chain. Type 5 is body armor, as per the modding manual.

New Units

I’ve run the numbers through the unit screen. All stats in this post are rendered as they appear on that screen.

Glitch! I noticed that even though the Composite Bow has a precision +1, this did not show up on the unit screen when I left-clicked on “Precision.” Seemed odd, but the same (lack of) effect happens on the T’ien Ch’i unit screen for their composite bow archers. So is the mod ignored, or applied but not noted on the screen?

#2350 Elf Militia
gcost=10, rcost=9, size=2, hp=9, prot=10, mor=9, mr=11, enc=5, str=9, att=8, def=10, prec=11, mapmove=1, ap=10
Weapons: Spear, Javelin
Armor: Helmet, Full Leather Armor, Round Shield

#2351 Elf Militia Archer
gcost=8, rcost=6, size=2, hp=9, prot=4, mor=9, mr=11, enc=3, str=9, att=8, def=10, prec=10, mapmove=1, ap=12
Weapons: Short Bow, Short Sword
Armor: Helmet, Leather Cuirass

#2352 Elf Militia Commander
gcost=30, rcost=11, size=2, hp=10, prot=10, mor=10, mr=11, enc=5, str=9, att=8, def=11, prec=11, mapmove=1, ap=10
Weapons: Elf Blade
Armor: Helmet, Full Leather Armor, Round Shield
Specials: ok leader (25-0-0)

These are generic elf units for province defense. They are not Grey-Elf-specific. The basic set-up I envision is 1 point of province defense yields 1 militia spear + 1 militia archer, somewhat similar to the Arcoscephale pattern. This needn’t change, regardless of elf nation or Independent status, though more alternatives could be added. Incidentally, the Grey Elf nation can’t buy these militia units—lack of cheap fodder is a national characteristic of the Grey Elves.

#2353 Hippogriff
gcost= -, rcost= -, size=4, hp=30, prot=5, mor=12, mr=12, enc=4, str=15, att=12, def=9, prec=10, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapons: Claw (29), Bite (20)
Specials: Animal, Flying, Mountain Survival, Waste Survival.

This is a generic Hippogriff, which is a mythological beast with the head and forequarters of an eagle and the hindquarters of a horse. (They appear in the French romances—the curious can pull up Bulfinch and check them out here) The Grey Elf mount has these stats, which are here rendered separately so they can be used for summons, other mods, and so on.

#2354 Large Eagle
gcost= -, rcost= -, size=2, hp=10, prot=2, mor=10, mr=8, enc=3, str=10, att=9, def=10, prec=9, mapmove=3, ap=6.
Special: Animal, Flying, Need Not Eat.

These are basically scaled-up Black Hawks. After some consideration, I decided to give them the “need not eat” special, since they are natural foragers and have a huge range. I may have to change this if an eagle-spamming strategy is too effective. Without this ability, they should have at least Mountain and Forest Survival.
(These eagles are about a size smaller than giant eagles from current D&D Monster Manual 3.5. Those would be capable of carrying human-sized riders—these are not.)

#2355 War Eagle
As the Large Eagle, but configured as a commander: Ok leader, 2 misc item slots.

It would be handy to have a mod tool that would restrict the number of gems carried by monsters like this one (maybe 5 gems total, or maybe even 1!).

#2356 Wounded Storm Mount
As Hippogriff, with a few changes: hp 20 (it’s wounded), berserk 3, nametype 108

The wounded Version builds in the hippogriff’s fierce loyalty. 1) Its rider isn’t going to die until the beast has taken at least a few hits. 2) If the beast survives, grief will distract it so that it will be slightly easier to kill, albeit subject to rages. The nametype is Arcoscephale female, which gives Grey Elf mounts distinctly non-Grey-Elf names. While not all hippogriff mounts are female, this strikes me as a good flavor touch (and gets some more use out of the female name lists).

#2357 Windship Captain
gcost=600, rcost=550, size=2, hp=10, prot=2, mor=14, mr=14, enc=7, str=10, att=9, def=10, prec=9, mapmove=3, ap=8.
Weapon: Elf Blade
Armor: Helmet, Full Elf Chain, Tower Shield
Special: Flying, Mountain Survival, Magic 1A, Expert Leader (75-0-0), Supply Bonus 75, Research Bonus –999. (can it go this low?)

This entry is disabled until the unit can be modded. The general idea is that only the captain’s graphic actually shows up on the battlefield. The Windship suffers the captain’s fate, which makes it very vulnerable to attacks that target commanders.

I see Windships being of greatest use in the mid-game, when they provide unequalled mobility, especially on closed Boards like Cradle. Once late-game magic kicks in, they will be too easy to target, and a real resource sink for those crazy enough to buy them then. In the early mid-game, the Grey Elves will have turned a major corner in their development when they have enough gold and resources to start building these units.

Grey Elf Units Overwriting Caelian Units:

Caelian units overwritten: #127-132, #358, #414, #418-421, #484, #202-204

Not sure exactly what’s going to overwrite what yet, but the above units are targeted.

Grey Elf Archer
gcost=12, rcost=18, size=2, hp=9, prot=11, mor=11, mr=12, enc=3, str=9, att=9, def=11, prec=11, mapmove=1, ap=12
Weapon: Composite Bow, Elf Blade
Armor: Helmet, Elf Chain Cuirass
Special: Mountain Survival

Grey Elf Warder
gcost=14, rcost=18, size=2, hp=9, prot=16, mor=12, mr=12, enc=5, str=9, att=10, def=13, prec=11, mapmove=1, ap=10
Weapon: Spear, Javelin
Armor: Helmet, Elf Chain Hauberk, Round Shield
Special: Mountain Survival

You might have noticed that both these units have a stratmove of 1, even though their equipment is light enough for a strategic move of 2. This is a function of national preference and tactics. When the ground troops want to go somewhere, they take an airship. Overland marches and logistics are not topics Grey Elf commanders normally consider; they are neither trained nor practiced in them. This makes coordinating a Grey Elf campaign especially challenging in the pre-Windship period (or in Windship-era game before such vessels can be constructed).

Citadel Guard
gcost=25, rcost=27, size=2, hp=11, prot=19, mor=13, mr=12, enc=7, str=10, att=11, def=11, prec=11, mapmove=1, ap=8
Weapons: Citadel Elf Spear
Armor: Helmet, Elf Full Chain, Tower Shield
Special: Mountain Survival, Capital Only

The fact I have two unit-producing capital sites, dovetails nicely with the two capital only units I have planned. I’ll probably overwrite the Temple Guards with these.

Guard Griffin
gcost=100, rcost= 6, size=5, hp=44, prot=7, mor=15, mr=13, enc=4, str=16, att=13, def=7, prec=10, mapmove=3, ap=15
Special: Animal, Female, Holy, Flying, Mountain Survival, Waste Survival, Capital only, Fortress Defense bonus*, Nametype 108 Arco female

As a capital-only unit, I’ll probably overwrite the Wingless with this. *Maybe we’ll get a mod tool for the Fortress Defense bonus…

Except for the specials and costs, this is the same as the standard griffin. I have no idea what resource cost to assign monsters, but if Greyhawk modding continues, some sort of algorithm is needed. The resource number used here is just the difference between the Amazon Griffin Rider and the resource cost of her weapons and armor. One alternative I considered (since this mod is an adaptation) was to run an RPG-based algorithm, like HD-1=resource, or HD/2 (round down)=resource, or (Height in feet/6) – 1 = resource; but I really haven’t found one of those I’m happy with.
Anyone have some informed feedback on this one?

Storm Rider
gcost=50, rcost=46, size=4, hp=10, prot=13, mor=12, mr=12, enc=5, str=9, att=11, def=14, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapons: Composite Bow, Elf Blade, Claw (236), Bite (237)
Armor: Helmet, Elf Chain Hauberk
Specials: Mounted, Mountain Survival, Secondshape 2355 (Wounded Storm Mount)

The elves get a sizable cost break on this unit, as it is the core unit of their army. I was a little confused at first about why the defense was so high, but apparently a mount adds +3. Gold cost assumes the listed value.

Another interesting issue is the claw/bite attack. The difference between 29/20 (monster claw/bite) and 236/237 (mount claw/bite) is that the latter are set up as bonus attacks and also rendered no-strength-added. Although it’s not an issue in this mod (since the hippogriff and griffin are close enough in size to ignore the difference), as we hit more monster work going forward, the lack of scalability in mount damage may become an issue. A monster griffin will probably have a monster hippogriff for lunch, but as mounts, their damage-inflicting ability seems to be the same.

Storm Knight
gcost=80, rcost=60, size=4, hp=11, prot=20, mor=13, mr=12, enc=6, str=10, att=11, def=16, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapons: Lance, Elf Blade, (Claw 236), (Bite 237)
Armor: Helmet, Elf Full Chain, Kite Shield
Specials: Mounted, Mountain Survival, Secondshape 2355 (Wounded Storm Mount)

No comments beyond issues noted above.

Large Eagle
gcost=20, rcost=2, size=2, hp=10, prot=2, mor=10, mr=8, enc=3, str=9, att=10, def=9, prec=8, mapmove=3, ap=6
Special: Animal, Flying, Need Not Eat, Stealthy 0

Only the large eagles allied with the Grey Elves exhibit stealth behavior. Giving the eagles Pangaea male names underlines the fact that these are allies. Eagle costs are deliberately high in comparison to other troops of this nation. I see them as economically a bad deal that you buy if you want their capabilities.

Wind Dancer
gcost=30, rcost=16, size=3, hp=9, prot=10, mor=11, mr=11, enc=4, str=9, att=10, def=9, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=8
Weapon: Scimitar x 2
Armor: Elf Chain Cuirass
Specials: Ambidextrous 4, Holy, Female, Flying, Mountain Survival, Fly in Storms*

Costs here inflated somewhat so the Storm Riders can’t be outbuilt 3:1. The ambidexterity rating is deliberately ramped up to make these mini-bladestorms. Not sure how balanced they are, but they ought to be fun. (*Maybe we’ll see a mod tool that allows this…)

Winged Elf Scout
gcost=30, rcost=3, size=3, hp=9, prot=11, mor=11, mr=11, enc=4, str=9, att=10, def=9, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=8
Weapons: Scimitar
Armor: Elf Chain Cuirass, Buckler
Specials: Flying, Stealthy +0, Mountain Survival, Leader (0-0-0)

I considered adding Patrol +5 to this, and giving the War Eagle equal cost, but decided against it. Note the minimum resource cost of individuals wearing elf chain is 3. This is true of all individual non-fighting leaders that wear armor.

War Eagle
gcost=35, rcost= 2, size=3, hp=9, prot=10, mor=12, mr=14, enc=4, str=8, att=9, def=9, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=8
Special: Flying, Need Not Eat, Stealthy 0, nametype 108 (Pangaea male)

Cost here is high to make the Winged Elf Scout more attractive as a scout. The hardwiring of genders is mostly for the purpose of having interesting names assigned. It’s also likely to have amusing and unintended effects if those files are modded into something else.

Wardmaster
gcost=45, rcost=22, size=2, hp=10, prot=16, mor=12, mr=12, enc=5, str=9, att=10, def=13, prec=11, mapmove=2, ap=12
Weapons: Elf Blade, Javelin
Armor: Helmet, Elf Chain Hauberk, Round Shield
Special: Mountain Survival, Leader (25-0-0)

Cost is boosted a little to make the Storm Rider Captain a more efficient commander buy for the money.

Storm Rider Captain
gcost=80, rcost=46, size=4, hp=11, prot=13, mor=13, mr=12, enc=4, str=9, att=11, def=14, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapon: Composite Bow, Elf Blade, Claw (236), Bite (237)
Armor: Helmet, Elf Chain Hauberk
Specials: Flying, Mounted, Mountain Survival, Leader (25-0-0)

Storm Knight Lord
gcost=120, rcost=58, size=4, hp=12, prot=20, mor=14, mr=12, enc=6, str=10, att=11, def=16, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapon: Lance, Elf Blade, Claw (236), Bite (237)
Armor: Helmet, Elf Full Chain, Kite Shield
Specials: Flying, Mounted, Mountain Survival, Leader (50-0-0)

Acute readers may have noticed the absence of Secondshape for the leaders’ hippogriffs. I’m not putting it in for now, because I’m not sure how much damage triggers the change, and I’d rather not be in the position of making an army rout through leader loss if it just happens after a hit or two.
Any advice from those who know more about how this type of change works? (Machaka spider shapes spring to mind, for example.)

Storm Mage
gcost=180, rcost=3, size=4, hp=9, prot=10, mor=13, mr=16, enc=4, str=8, att=8, def=12, prec=12, mapmove=3, ap=15
Weapons: Elf Blade, (Claw 236), (Bite 237)
Armor: Elf Chain Cuirass
Specials: Female, Flying, Mounted, Mountain Survival, Research +1, Magic 3A/2W, Ldr (10-50-0)

This is mostly the Caelian mage with the serial numbers filed off, modified for nationality. I ended up giving the mage an Elf Blade. I didn’t like the idea of a mounted quarterstaff, and a dagger seemed a strange choice for someone riding a hippogriff.

Storm Mage Initiate
gcost=100, rcost=3, size=2, hp=9, prot=10, mor=12, mr=15, enc=3, str=9, att=8, def=9, prec=11, mapmove=2, ap=12
Weapons: Elf Blade
Armor: Elf Chain Cuirass
Specials: Female, Mountain Survival, Research +1, Magic 1A/1?, Ldr (10-10-0)

This cheap mage is a major advantage for the Grey Elves. The elf blade might be too much, but I can’t help feeling that if it encourages a player to commit the unit to melee, the problem is likely to be self-correcting.

Wind Temple Priestess
gcost=110, rcost=3, size=3, hp=9, prot=10, mor=12, mr=14, enc=4, str=8, att=9, def=9, prec=11, mapmove=3, ap=8
Weapons: Scimitar
Armor: Elf Chain Cuirass
Special: Female, Flying, Holy, Mountain Survival, Shockres=50, Magic 1A/3H, Ldr (10-10-0)

Possibly a little pricey. Making this a capital only unit might be overly restrictive, since this is the only Holy path magic user available to the Grey Elves.

Further Notes
Incidentally, a lot of work has been done with Tolkien’s Sindar as a language. I found the Sindar Dragon Flame dictionary in particular a useful inspiration for the Grey Elf name files.

While I’ve had fun with names, it might also be nice to have a unit mod tool #femname <number>, where the number is 0-10, each representing a 10% chance of a female name. Thus, #femname 5 is a 50-50 name balance, while #femname 1 is a male-dominated group with a few females, and #femname 10 is Amazonian in its exclusion of males. This has no real game effect, but does add to the immersion factor, particularly with respect to multi-cultural alliance nation mods. (A Themiskyra/Pythia alliance mod, anyone?)

Final Thoughts:

So these are the Grey Elves. Tough but pricey, considering their lack of access to Earth magic. Short on cheap cannon fodder and trouble to coordinate, but with some interesting special units. Powerful magic, not quite as cheap as Caelum, but a bit better protected. Definitely needs high Order and Productivity scales for best effect.

Anyhow, that’s it for the stats—what do you think?

[Duncanish]

Looks good. Keep up the good work.

And the Precision bonus is applied, just not tallied in. My thinking is because the bonus only applies to that attack. Two ranged attacks with a +1 and a +2 respectively wouldn't give a +3 to both attacks, but would keep their own bonuses.

[Endoperez]

I think that if you replace Storm Guard (flies in storms) with Wind Dancer you will get Wind Dancers that can fly in storms.

Remember to use #coldprot 0.

This is looking GREAT, BTW. And it is also a great help for everyone who is thinking of doing their own mod. Good idea, excellent work!

[RedRover]

Thanks all for the kind words.

Duncanish:

On the Glitch: I should clarify. Normally, when you go into a unit screen and left-click a unit value, it will give a current value and an original value. For example, an original Encumbrance of 3 might be modified to 5 by armor. The unit screen shows a 5, and the left-click shows a current value of 5, and the original value of 3.

However, the unit screen Precision value for the Grey Elf Archer, for example, shows an 11 (the original value). The left-click shows a current value of 11 and an original value of 11. But the +1 from the composite bow should have increased the current value to 12. So, in play, is the computer using a value of 11 or 12?
Is it not reading the Precision increase for the weapon, or just not reporting it?

Endoperez:
Thanks very much for the reminder on #coldprot. I had been using #clearspec to get rid of the cold resistance, but that also wipes out the other specials.

I’ve put together a real Frankstein collection of lifted graphics (mostly Crusader and Empire) to cobble together an alpha test Version. Since I don’t have access to the original Caelum graphics, I’ve been sliding by just not changing them for the Winged Elves. But Caelum uses the same graphic for the Light Infantry and Scout, so anything I plug into the Light Infantry slot is going to look like a Winged Elf.

I also haven’t figured out a way to set either a null graphic or null stats yet, I’m just making up crude work-arounds as I need them.

I seem to be bound by the exact number of leaders and troop units that the original nation had. So far I have been unable to add new units or commanders to the recruitment screen or take off ones I don’t want. If I can’t work around this soon, I’m thinking I’ll have to recut the unit mix and rebalance things.

Modding Manual Glitch! The listed command for assigning magic paths is #magicpath. This does not work. The command #magicskill does work. Bugthread notified.

[Endoperez]

RedRover:
[quote]
On the Glitch: I should clarify. Normally, when you go into a unit screen and left-click a unit value, it will give a current value and an original value. For example, an original Encumbrance of 3 might be modified to 5 by armor. The unit screen shows a 5, and the left-click shows a current value of 5, and the original value of 3.
[quote]

For Attack -rating, the unit screen shows original value and the left-click shows original value plus all the modified values for all attacks the unit has. A knight might have basic attack rating of 11, but has lance attack at 11, sword attack at 12 and hoof at 11.

RedRover

However, the unit screen Precision value for the Grey Elf Archer, for example, shows an 11 (the original value). The left-click shows a current value of 11 and an original value of 11. But the +1 from the composite bow should have increased the current value to 12. So, in play, is the computer using a value of 11 or 12?
Is it not reading the Precision increase for the weapon, or just not reporting it?

If the unit would have two missile attacks with different weapons, maybe sling and javelin, the precision rating would be original+weapon's precision value for both of them. Left-clicked precision does not show them the same way attack does, but I think it reads them just fine.

[RedRover]

Grey Elf Lite

Since posting the original Grey Elf Mod idea, I’ve been working on an apha test Version (attached).

Having not found any solution to the limits imposed by the troop/commander mix of the base nation, I recast the units to get something playable. The compressions I put the mod through are detailed in the Readme file.

Also, in the spirit of the Halloween season, I’ve cobbled together a Frankenstein of a graphics file, stealing shamelessly from most of the other mods to cover my lack of graphics skill and lack of knowledge about how to access the unit tgas embedded in the game. The biggest weirdness was using the Empire Leviathan for the guard griffin. (Well, it’s big, and not likely to be mistaken for a cavalry or foot unit…)

The alpha should capture these aspects of the Grey Elves: mobile and well equipped, somewhat fragile, few in number, with magic and research ability on par with Caelum's.

Give them a try and let me know how you like them.

Endoperez:
Re. the #coldprot command:

Using #coldprot to shut off Caelian cold resistance did not work for me. Instead of shutting off the resistance, it turned on the #cold chill damage effect.

On the other hand, #clearspec didn’t seem to shut off the capital-only nature of the Caelian units with that feature.

Testing Note:
I've been using the following nations in 6-player testing (Difficult, Aran map, Independent strength 6): Abysia, Arcoscephale, C’tis, Pythium, and Vanheim. That is, the upper end of the food chain, since that is where base Caelum is.

For AI dry tests, I’ve been replacing C’tis with Jotunheim as a Human “dummy” and checking scales every 5 turns. The dummy position usually Lasts about 40 turns.

I’ve been using Lady of Fortune as the Grey Elf pretender for thematic reasons, but am currently unsure how much this may have been affecting the results. Next round of testing, I’m going to try someone else.

Glitch Notes:

#nametype: For some reason, even though I’ve scripted the Storm Mages and Wind Temple Priestesses for female Grey Elf names, I've been getting about 20% Caelian names for the Storm Mages and 100% Caelian names for the Wind Temple Priestesses.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe my name list replacement for list 112 (about 200 names) is shorter than the Caelian name list, but I have no idea why it’s functioning nearly normally for the Storm Mages and not at all for the Wind Temple Priestesses.

#startunitnbrs: Since Grey Elves start with their core unit Storm Riders, I tried to script in a starting strength of 8. This defaulted me back to the Caelian 25-infantry setup (though with GreyElfLite graphics and stats). When I set the number to 10, it started 10 Storm Riders. So it’s 10 in the current alpha.

[Duncanish]

I think your zip is missing the .dm file. ^^; I can't find it, and the mod isn't showing up on the preferences list; no banner, and no text. Sorry if it's just my own stupidity or something.