[WIP] Islander Race

[WIP] Islander Race

I have been working on creating a custom allegiance. They will have an oriental theme, custom armor, and custom improvement tiles. This project will take be a long time to complete and I will be regularly replacing old artwork with new stuff as my proficiency increases.

 

Backstory

Back in an age long past, before the first man took his first breath, the dragons ruled Elemental. Proud and free they carved out their civilization and built wondrous monuments that last to this very day. The weakness that would eventually destroy them was their independence and solitary nature, for they could not band together to face a common threat. However soon after man first appeared an aberration was born, this dragon longed to dominate and rule his fellow dragons. Hiding his true nature he sought to master magics far beyond the capabilities of most dragons, and use this power to control his brethren and bind them to his will. However his spell failed and his victims rose up against him in a terrible fury. Such was their hatred of his foul and unnatural control that they chased him from the known lands. Terribly wounded he flew into the high cold winds that blow across the roof of the world and let them carry him far across the endless oceans of Elemental, until he reached a barren and near lifeless volcanic continent. There in exile he hibernated for many years.

When he awoke he once again begun his sorcerous studies. Using his magical might he cast his magical vision unto his far away birthland. There to his horror he saw that his kin had all but died out, and been replaced by man. Cursing the stupidity and weakness of his brethren he traveled back to his homeland to aid his kin. However dragon kind had not forgotten or forgiven him his crime and when he tried to join with them they attacked him viciously. Hurt and alienated from his kind the dragon tyrant started to flee back into exile, when he stumbled upon a human village. The humans quickly assailed him with force of arms and primitive magics, in response the tyrant cast his own mind dominating spells. Bedazzled by the tyrant's awesome magical might and thought influencing spells the humans begun worshiping the dragon as a god. Pleased by this the tyrant transported his new followers, and then many more humans, to his faraway dominion across the sea. There they started a flourishing civilization with the dragon tyrant as their almighty god emperor. In return the dragon used his magic to bring the land to life and protect his followers from the cruel elements and unstable terrain. The people called this new land the Heavenly Land. Using these new mortal followers the tyrant stole several dragon eggs, and when they hatched he reared them to be his generals and chief servants.

When the Titans came to Elemental they ignored the tyrants dominion, either they were unaware of it or in their arrogance they did not care. The Dragon Emperor in return cared little for the lands that had cast him out, but he would regret this decision. When the titans fell the magic unleashed by the cataclysm caught the Dragon Emperor unaware, he was in deep sleep guarded by his countless priests and priestesses. The cataclysm caused a magic chain reaction that rippled through the earths crust and shattered the stone base upon which the heavenly lands rested. In the sudden massive destruction that followed most of the Heavenly Lands violently sunk beneath the ocean. The Emperor himself vanished beneath the roaring waves, into legend. The Heavenly Lands had become the Shattered Islands. After much suffering his people begun to recover under the remaining Dragon Lords. Each dragon claimed an island for their own and fiercely guarded their territory. After several small wars the Dragon Lords became locked into a stalemate. In search of advantage they begun to send out groups of champions and explorers to the main land...


 SpellBook

Islanders use an altered form of Life magic known as Spirit magic which is said to have been passed down from the Dragon Emperor himself in ages long past. Adepts of spirit specialize in storing life energy within their bodies and harmonizing it with their own life force. Although this limits the range and versatility of their spells it allows them to boost their physical prowess to unimaginable levels. Masters of spirit strive to reach both physical and mental perfection through intense meditation and mastery of their arts. Mages of this school are known for devastating close range magical attacks, powerful combat stances that boost the user for several turns, and at it's highest levels the ability to bind mana permanently within the caster's physical body.


To Do List:

-Finish XML so it's Playable - Done

-Unique Armor - First Draft Done

-Unique Improvements - Waiting for Beta2

-Unique Clothes - First Draft Done

-Book of Spirit Magic - Working on basic spells without custom art.

-Unique Troops - Maybe Later

 

Requests:

Not a big deal but if someone with modeling experience has some free time it would be cool if they could make hat like this:

or one of those oriental squashed straw cone hats.

Also eventually it would be nice to have some custom eyes.

14,244 views 12 replies
Reply #2 Top

Islands are the the natural enemies to Elemental humans.  No matter the level of technology researched, or magic conjured... water displacement is beyond the capabilities of Elemental Mankind.

Reply #3 Top

Might want to take a look at The Tomes of Ryuu-o. Good dragon magic here. 

Reply #4 Top

Very exciting!

 

Reply #5 Top

Updated: I added some new armor artwork and replaced some of the old stuff. The new stuff is more unique and looks better I think. Also added some requests.

I haven't had much time to work on this stuff lately due to exams but I get a week off soon.

Reply #6 Top

Updated: Finished with clothes selection for now. Replaced plate helmet with better looking one. Fixed some issues with female armor and added some unique armor pieces for them. The race works and is complete but I don't feel the need to release them yet because there are still a few graphic glitches and I am waiting for Beta2 so I can start using the tile editor. They just don't feel unique enough yet so I will just screw around with them till Beta2 comes out.

Reply #7 Top

Updated Again: The armors are really coming along, in my opinion anyway. I keep meaning to leave them alone but I'm off school for the week, have no other projects, and can't work on other stuff for this mod until the workshops are released.

Reply #8 Top

I have just decided to make Islanders an allegiance instead of just a race. I am now accepting community input on what to call this allegiance. We have Kingdoms and Empire and they both have a specific governing philosophy. What should the Islanders be called and what should their philosophy be?

 

Reply #9 Top

I was thinking something more oligarchical, but then I am reminded that the entire game is centered around one powerful dude/dudete that rules.

 

 

Reply #10 Top

The Japanese feudal system is a unique concept.

Reply #11 Top

The Shogunate

(Kingdom, Empire, and Shogunate)

 

-> Life, Death, and Ancient/dragon mana.

The Shogunate would have neither life nor death magic ... but something else (like Chi magic, or Ancient magic, etc)

Dragon magic?

Reply #12 Top

What makes the shogunate so unique? I have always considered feudal Japan to be pretty similar to feudal Europe.