The Yōkai

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Melon
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The Yōkai

Post by Melon »

The Yōkai

The Yōkai are a whimsical and capricious lot that tend to follow a self-centered decision-making process similar to that of an average cat. They are most well known for being completely uncontrollable and are thus typically avoided by other races whenever possible.

As a faction the Yōkai gear themselves towards power, low prices and versatility. Many units can cover ground quickly on wide variety of different terrain and have good defense but poor resistances and hit points. All Yōkai are vulnerable to arcane magic.

Units:
Weavers:
These humanoid arachnids are both capable craftsmen and expert trappers. Weaver webs are known for being lightweight, durable and very, very deadly to all who may oppose them.
Role: Weavers are a ranged unit capable of dealing impact damage and slowing their opponents with their webs. If forced into melee combat they can bite their opponents for low amounts of bladed damage. Weaver Widows are especially deadly in this regard as their bites will poison their foes.
Units: Level 0: Weaver Maiden, Level 1: Weaver Matron and Weaver Widow, Level 2: Weaver Matriarch

Lamia:
Women with the lower half of a serpent and hair made of snakes.
Role: Lamia are stealthy melee fighters capable of sneaking past their foes completely undetected. They fight with a dagger, dealing bladed damage to their foes. Lamia Warriors can double their damage by flanking their enemies. Lamia detest cold and rough terrain, making them fight poorly in the hills and incapable of crossing mountains. A rare few Lamia will mature into Medusas giving them the ability to freeze their foes with a mere glance and slow them for the remainder of the turn. Medusa Witches have mastered this ability to the point when a single look in their eyes will turn their unfortunate victims into a stone statue.
Units: Level 1: Lamia, Level 2: Lamia Warrior and Medusa, Level 3: Medusa Witch

Surgler Swarms:
A race of tiny insect-like humanoids who nest in old cloaks. They are known for zealously following a unique code of conduct known only to themselves.
Role: The Swarms have good defense and resistances but very low hit points and a high vulnerability to cold, fire and arcane damage. They attack in a charge dealing piercing damage to their foes. The swarms use the bodies of their slain foes as nesting ground for their young and those slain by a swarm will rise again as a Swarm Spawn. Once promoted the Surgler Swarms gain a draining ranged piercing attack. The Swarm Spawn who choose to oppose the teachings of the Surgler church and are referred to as Rebel Swarms. The Rebel Swarms add melee draining to their arsenal of abilities, but lose the ability to convert their fallen foes.
Units: Level 0: Swarm Spawn, Level 1: Surgler Swarm and Rebel Swarm, Level 2: Moving Fortress

Poltergeists:
Semi-corporeal spirits of the dead who chose to remain in the land of the living.
Role: Poltergeists are balanced fighters, they are similar to ghosts in terms of their defense and resistances and can deal both ranged arcane and impact melee damage. Poltergeists that choose to become Banshees will frighten the nearby foes into dealing less damage in combat. Those that become vengeful Onryo gain the ability to increase their damage for every enemy soul they take.
Units: Level 1: Poltergeist, Level 2: Phantom, Banshee and Onryo

Feyborn:
Those born with mixed human and Yokai blood in their veins are referred to as Feyborn. As children they are all but completely indistinguishable from human kids, but as they mature they will often develop beastly features and terrifying magical powers.
Role: Feyborn have the power to summon spectral shards from the spirit world to deal blade damage to their foes but lack a melee attack altogether. As they mature their Yokai ancestry will present itself, giving them access to further abilities. Those that become Kitsunes will achieve further mastery over the spirit world, giving them access to powerful magical attacks. Those who transform into winged Tengu can channel the powers of wind, allowing them to completely ignore zones of control and deal impact damage by kicking their enemies. Sometimes the Yokai ancestry of a Feyborn child will never fully reveal itself resulting in a Feyborn Witch. The Witches devote their eternal life to the study of alchemy, allowing them to create both potent medicine to heal the wounded and explosive "love potions" to fling at their enemies.
Units: Level 1: Feyborn, Level 2: Feyborn Witch, Tengu and Kitsune, Level 3: Nine-Tailed Fox

Pixies:
Pixies are small and mischievous race, possessing a pair of glowing faerie wings on their backs.
Role: Pixies are an inexpensive level 0 scout with an cold-based melee attack. They are resistant to cold but weak to impact and fire. Once promoted Pixies have a choice of becoming ether a Nixie or a Faerie. Nixies lose their faerie wings but become exceptional swimmers and can deal ranged impact damage with their spray attack. Faeries on the other hand retain their ability to fly and gain a ranged freezing attack.
Units: Level 0: Pixie, Level 1: Faerie and Nixie

Spriggans:
Spriggans are a plant-like race. Unlike many of the other Yokai, Spriggans tend to form close bonds with humanoids.
Role: Spriggans make excellent defenders due to their relatively high hit points and regeneration. They defend themselves by entangling their opponents with their vines, dealing impact melee damage and slowing them in the process. If startled a Spriggan can emit an ear-splitting scream to deal further impact damage at a safe distance. They fight best in forests but are also fair in swamps. Sproutlings that grow up in human communities become very different then those that grow in the wild and are commonly referred to as Mandragoras. These creatures seem to lose their ability to rapidly regenerate but may produce a single, but powerful scream that deals impact damage to their foes.
Units: Level 0: Sproutling, Level 1: Spriggan and Mandragora, Level 2: Greater Spriggan

Leshi:
Leshi are a fungal life-form capable of draining life with a mere touch.
Role: Leshi are balanced fighters. Though their hp is below average, they are relatively inexpensive and possess a draining melee attack that deals arcane damage to their foes. They fight best in mushroom groves but are also quite good in forests and swamps. It is said that the only Leshi to reach the final stages of their fungal life-cycle are those that are born in a healthy forest. The Leshi that sprout on cursed or defiled land will mature into Kodama instead and bring great misfortune to all those around them.
Units: Level 0: Nymph, Level 1: Leshi and Kodama, Level 3: Elder Leshi
Notice:
The latest version can be found in the attached zip file.
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Last edited by Melon on October 21st, 2008, 9:42 pm, edited 59 times in total.
binaryquasar
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=)

Post by binaryquasar »

I like it =) count on me to test anything you want but I am not enough of an artist to help sprite etc :)
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thespaceinvader
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Post by thespaceinvader »

Looks fun =)

The only thing i'd say offhand is that Saboteur doesn't strike me as the best name for a ranged-only rocket launcher unit - sabotage is stealth, infiltration and destruction without being caught or seen.
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Elerias
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Post by Elerias »

I`d suggest something like Gnomish Engineer or Gnomish Firestarter instead of saboteur but everything else looks very nice and am looking forward to more info&gfx.
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Melon
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Post by Melon »

I'm actually considering discontinuing the gnome altogether since he doesn't fit the faction as well as I'd like him to. I'm also considering expanding the total faction size to 7 or 8 units. Though I have a few ideas of my own, I'm still open to suggestions for new units as long as they fit the faction both in terms of balance and concept.[/b]
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JW
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Post by JW »

Melon wrote:I'm actually considering discontinuing the gnome altogether since he doesn't fit the faction as well as I'd like him to. I'm also considering expanding the total faction size to 7 or 8 units. Though I have a few ideas of my own, I'm still open to suggestions for new units as long as they fit the faction both in terms of balance and concept.[/b]
lol...gnome faction went to no gnome faction? :P
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Post by Jodwin »

Melon wrote:Though I have a few ideas of my own, I'm still open to suggestions for new units as long as they fit the faction both in terms of balance and concept.[/b]
What about an other lvl 1 satyr, a satyr flanker who is weaker than the swordsman but has skirmish. Weapons could be poor (wooden) spears and a sling.

Or if you'd want more flying units, horses-who-can-fly (avoiding the "there is only one Pegasus!"-issue :P ) would fit into the theme.
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Pez
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Post by Pez »

spriggans are a really good idea but you buffed them up alot its like a water unit that fights well in shallow water and then forest then they can do the plague thign and have regen and high hitpionts and thier zombie making thing is ranged so sounds like a really buff unit you should leave your units to a global standard of fighting better in the woods and leave the spriggan to not being able to fight in the shallow water as the waters running and the roots can't catch ground or its just too muddy in the water to move good enough other than that i don't want to say what else you should cut from the unit but still awsome idea actually im in the middle of trying to make some units for a new faction for a campaign im making plus adding alot more demons
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Melon
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Post by Melon »

Pez wrote:spriggans are a really good idea but you buffed them up alot its like a water unit that fights well in shallow water and then forest then they can do the plague thign and have regen and high hitpionts and thier zombie making thing is ranged so sounds like a really buff unit you should leave your units to a global standard of fighting better in the woods and leave the spriggan to not being able to fight in the shallow water as the waters running and the roots can't catch ground or its just too muddy in the water to move good enough other than that i don't want to say what else you should cut from the unit but still awsome idea actually im in the middle of trying to make some units for a new faction for a campaign im making plus adding alot more demons
We have punctuation for a reason. But aside from that, I do partially agree with you, spriggans do seem a bit overpowered right now. Keep in mind though that I'm not working on balancing the faction stat-wise just yet, so almost everything I said is still subject to change.
Jodwin wrote:What about an other lvl 1 satyr, a satyr flanker who is weaker than the swordsman but has skirmish. Weapons could be poor (wooden) spears and a sling.

Or if you'd want more flying units, horses-who-can-fly (avoiding the "there is only one Pegasus!"-issue :P ) would fit into the theme.
I'd like to avoid duplicate races for this particular faction, since the Fey are meant to be a rag-tag mosaic of various units rather then some sort of an organized army belonging to a single race.
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Vendanna
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Post by Vendanna »

Well, looking in one of my books called "Faeries" (spanish Hadas) edited in spain in the year 1983 and on new york in the year 1978.

I found some creatures ideas.

The Fachan (west highlands of scotland) its a one legged giant with only on hand (sprout from the middle of the torso forward) and a big head with only one eye, the ears are pointy like the elves, and had only a big thread of hair in the top of his head that goes in the direction of the ceiling.

Kelpie has the form of a young horse, and usually habits rivers, if an human rides it, it will act normally like a normal horse, until it senses there is water near, in which case, it leaps into the water and makes its rider get totally wet.

It mentions other one from ireland called Aughisky more dangerous that after dropping the rider in the water, devours it.

That one could be your basic water unit and the second one its level up.

And well, the other things that appear on that book are already posted on this thread or are more "unique individuals" rather than a race/specie.

I have yet another book, called in spanish "El libro de las cosas que nunca existieron" filled with other creatures and things from popular talkings around the world. Like the Red Cap gnome that tints its cap with the blood of its victims. tought I don't know exactly the territory of "creatures" you want to draw for in the faction, since you probably wouldn't want to add things like sphinx that are from egipt if you are adding things from scotland, ireland etc. :)

Between, the spriggan looks awesome, I tought it was a driad until I saw the name. :)
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Melon
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Post by Melon »

Vendanna wrote:Well, looking in one of my books called "Faeries" (spanish Hadas) edited in spain in the year 1983 and on new york in the year 1978.

I found some creatures ideas.

The Fachan (west highlands of scotland) its a one legged giant with only on hand (sprout from the middle of the torso forward) and a big head with only one eye, the ears are pointy like the elves, and had only a big thread of hair in the top of his head that goes in the direction of the ceiling.

Kelpie has the form of a young horse, and usually habits rivers, if an human rides it, it will act normally like a normal horse, until it senses there is water near, in which case, it leaps into the water and makes its rider get totally wet.

It mentions other one from ireland called Aughisky more dangerous that after dropping the rider in the water, devours it.

That one could be your basic water unit and the second one its level up.

And well, the other things that appear on that book are already posted on this thread or are more "unique individuals" rather than a race/specie.

I have yet another book, called in spanish "El libro de las cosas que nunca existieron" filled with other creatures and things from popular talkings around the world. Like the Red Cap gnome that tints its cap with the blood of its victims. tought I don't know exactly the territory of "creatures" you want to draw for in the faction, since you probably wouldn't want to add things like sphinx that are from egipt if you are adding things from scotland, ireland etc. :)

Between, the spriggan looks awesome, I tought it was a driad until I saw the name. :)
Thanks for the extensive post :) . Some interesting ideas there. The mythological origin of the units in this faction is pretty diverse to tell the truth, so far it's extended to Greco-Roman, British, Irish and Japanese.

I've also chosen a substitute unit for the gnome, check the opening post for the unit description and image.
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Melon
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Post by Melon »

After giving it some thought I've decided to split the abilities of the Spriggans between two separate units.
The Shroomkin are a new unit capable of draining with their melee attacks and causing plague with their ranged attacks. At level 2 they gain feeding in addition to their other abilities.
The Spriggans no longer have ranged capabilities but gained the ability to slow with their melee attacks. At higher levels they also gain an additional backstabbing attack with their vines as well as the ability to poison their enemies.
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Melon
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Post by Melon »

Small update: Added level 2 Changeling and Centaur
Last edited by Melon on March 28th, 2008, 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Weeksy
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Post by Weeksy »

I'm liking these a lot, there's just one thing that bothers me a bit: all your units seem to have the same face, at the same angle, and it looks odd.
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Neoskel
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Post by Neoskel »

Will there be male centaurs as well?
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