Ermor is an empire centered around a great city. For centuries it has grown and become more and more influential. Traders and travelers from near and far come to the city. By military campaigns, diplomacy and trade, Ermor has become a power to be reckoned with. By adopting local traditions and beliefs, the Ermorians posed little threat to neighbors and conquered peoples, but this has begun to change. A new God is rising. Old syncretistic faiths and spirit worship were banned by a Prophet dressed in white shrouds. The remnants of his body and shrouds are buried in the Holy City of Eldregate where the adherents of the New Faith are awaiting the arrival of the Reawakening God foreseen by the Prophet. The all-encompassing old state cult of the Numinas still survives, but the Pontifices and Flamen are slowly adopting the New Faith.
"Ermor was initially a conglomerate of the Roman Empire and undead nations of general fantasy stock. With time, it has received a history that begins as something like the early Roman republic, with military units of that age and priests and diviners inspired by Roman religious officials. The New Faith replaces the old state cult of the Numina, as Christianity eventually replaced the old Roman state cult. With the turn of the age, the mistake of the Augurs becomes apparent, and the nation is brought into darkness.
Ermor is one of the first conceived nations in the Dominions universe. In the first Dominions, the Ermorian backstory influenced many of the other nations. When the eras were introduced in Dominions 3, the undead empire ended up in the late age and the Dominions history lost some of its coherency. With Dominions 4, I tried to straighten things up and once more placed the Ashen Empire of Ermor in the middle age where its antagonists and splinter empires can be found.
The backstories of Sceleria, Pythium, Marignon and Ulm are all influenced by Ermor. Several other nations have interacted with the nation or its shadow. It would be difficult to imagine the Dominions setting without Ermor. . . .
During the subjugation of C’tis, lizard soldiers were recruited into the Ermorian ranks. Lizard Auxiliares have since been a regular part of the Ermorian army. The lizards are armed as Hastati, but wear ring mail cuirass of C’tissian design, and use round shields instead of the tower shields standard to the Imperial Legions. . . .
Ermor was once a great empire that had conquered much of the known world. The realm crumbled as the great mages of the Empire studied dark magic under the Sauromancers of C’tis. Unaware of the dangers of dark sorcery, priests performed unholy rites in the capital city of Eldregate. But there were voices who demanded that the foul practices stop. Theurgs and Thaumaturgs foresaw the cataclysm and advised generals, governors, and consuls to revolt. When the Apostate Emperor marched on Ermor itself, the Augurs and Bishops of the Empire were forced to act in concert. In one cataclysmic event, Death was let loose and the empire was shattered. The Cataclysm attracted attention from an earlier God, a dark and hungry God. The vast power of this Awakening God erased the boundaries between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Ermor is now a cursed land of ashes and darkness where nothing grows. The bones of long-dead inhabitants reassemble to form legions of undead under the leadership of the cursed priests of the old Ermorian faith. Undead legions march forth to conquer a world once theirs. The Ermorian Dominion reanimates the dead without the aid of unholy priests. It also destroys the land, turning crops and forests into ashes, and people and livestock into bones. The Pretender God of Ermor will also be able to sense where any corpses are in provinces under his Dominion." -Illwinter
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Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 (rare 4) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3) 1 (rare 2) 1 1 1 3 | Hero 4 Summon 112 (req. 1) | Human Legionnaires Lizard Auxiliaries | Levy Stealthy Recuperation Healer Grand Communicant Old Age | Advanced Forts Starts with a Fortified City |
Capitol Gems: 33
Order Limit + 1
Marginal Magic: Ermor can recruit mage-priests off-capital. These offer a different sort of magic access from what the forts have:
On-Fort | Off-Fort |
---|---|
3 (rare 4) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3) 1 (rare 2) 3 (2 off-capital) | 2 1 1 1 1 2 |
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Scout 35 4 1 | Stealthy(50) Mountain Survival Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Assassin 80 4 1 | Stealthy(65) Ambidextrous(2) Assassin 1 | Commmentary here. | |
Centurion 95 21 1 | Commentary here. | ||
Legatus Legionis 150 21 2 | Commentary here. | ||
Acolyte 65 1 1 | 1 Sacred | Commentary here. | |
Bishop of the Sacred Shroud 155 1 2 | 2 Sacred Recuperation Healer 1 | Commentary Here. | |
Augur 90 2 2 | 11 9 Fortune Teller 10% | Commentary here. | |
Augur Elder 295 2 4 | 2121100% 10% 17 Fortune Teller 10% Old Age (60/46) | Commentary here. | |
Praefectus Equitum 195 33 1 Capital Only | 1 Sacred Recuperation Skilled Rider (2) | Commentary here. | |
War Horse | Sacred Recuperation Animal | Commentary here. | |
Arch Bishop of the Sacred Shroud 235 1 4 Capital Only | 3 Sacred Recuperation Healer 1 | Commentary Here. | |
Flamen 185 1 2 Non-fort Recruit Only | 111100% 9 Sacred Grand Communicant | Commentary Here. | |
Pontifex 145 1 2 Non-fort Recruit Only | 127 Sacred Grand Communicant | Commentary Here. |
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Slinger 7 2 3 | Commentary here. | ||
Accensus 8 9 5 | Commentary here. | ||
Retiarius 10 1 9 | Levy | Commentary here. | |
Gladiator 10 1 9 | Levy | Commentary here. | |
Leve 10 8 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Rorarus 10 13 8 | Commentary here. | ||
Lizard Auxiliare 10 11 11 | Poison Resistance (5) Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming | Commentary here. | |
Hastatus 11 14 12 | Commentary here. | ||
Principe 14 16 20 | Commentary here. | ||
Triarius 15 28 25 | Formation Fighter (2) Old Age (55/50) | Commentary here. | |
Standard 20 14 21 | Standard (1) | Commentary here. | |
Equite 40 33 46 | Commentary here. | ||
War Horse | Animal | Commentary here. | |
Equite of the Sacred Shroud 60 33 48 Capital Only | Sacred Recuperation Skilled Rider (1) | Commentary here. | |
War Horse | Sacred Recuperation Animal | Commentary here. |
Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Contact Lar (Conjuration 5) 1 and 16 | Lar | 11213 Sacred Poison Resistance (15) Stealthy (40) Supply Bonus (+35) Reduces Unrest (2) Poison Resistance (15) Magic Being Ethereal Need Not Eat Forest Survival Recuperation Spirit Sight | Summoned by any 1 Flamen, or likely an independent Shaman or Woodhenge Druid, the Lar is a sneaky and relatively sturdy mage with a useful path spread. He locks in Water and Earth access for the nation, and he deepens Ermor's Nature access. Though it's hard to go wrong with having mages Research, a Lar can also accompany Ermorian armies while hiding, offering a head-start on Unrest reduction and boosting Supplies. |
See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.
See Magic Access for full guide.
EA Ermor has the right paths and crosspaths for some of the major Multi-path boosters but the levels of its mages are so low it makes it difficult to get any of them.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
32 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
11 | + | Skull of Fire | Cons. 7 | 55 |
4 | 5 | Flame Helmet | Cons. 5 | 30 |
5 | 6 | King of Elemental Fire Limited Amount + Flame Helmet | Conj. 8 | 50 |
Uniques | ||||
3 | 4 | The Ruby Eye Unique, Unremovable | Cons. 9 | 15 |
4 | 5 | Orb of Elemental Fire Unique | Cons. 9 | 25 |
Crosspaths | ||||
22 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
22 | 25 | Augur Elder + | ||
25 | + | The Staff from the Sun | Cons. 9 | 540 |
23 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
23 | 43 | Augur Elder + | ||
43 | 43 | King of Banefires Unique | Conj. 8 | 50 |
43 | 63 | Antrax - King of Banefires + |
55 gets The Forbidden Light Unique which gives +. It requires the Augur Elder to have at least five boosters at the same time, though, so getting it is not very practical.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
11 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
11 | 21 | Augur Elder + Empowerment in | 30 | |
21 | 22 | Augur Elder + | ||
22 | + | Tome of High Power Unique | Cons. 9 | 1010 |
Air is always hard to climb, unless you start at 4. EA Ermor does not. Getting the Unique Tome of High Power will save one empowerment on the way up to 4.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
1 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
1 | 2 | Water Bracelet | Cons. 7 | 5 |
2 | 3 | Empowerment 2 | 30 | |
3 | 4 | Robe of the Sea | Cons. 5 | 15 |
4 | 5 | Sea King's Court + Water Bracelet + Robe of the Sea | Conj. 6 | 55 |
5 | 7 | Queen of Elemental Water Limited Amount + Water Bracelet + Robe of the Sea | Conj. 6 | 50 |
Uniques | ||||
4 | 5 | Orb of Elemental Water Unique | Cons. 9 | 25 |
Crosspaths | ||||
1 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
1 | 12 | Contact Lar | Conj. 5 | 16 |
12 | 32 | Lar + | ||
32 | 33 | Contact Naiad | Conj. 5 | 25 |
33 | 53 | Naiad + | ||
11 | Lar (See above.) | |||
11 | 41 | Lar + | ||
41 | + | Orb of Atlantis Unique | Cons. 9 | 255 |
Trying for the Orb of Atlantis requires three boosters, which means getting the Orb of Elemental Water.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
1 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
Crosspaths | ||||
1 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
1 | 12 | Contact Lar | Conj. 5 | 16 |
12 | 22 | Lar + | ||
22 | + | The Tome of Gaia Unique | Cons. 9 | 1010 |
To see how to take the 1 Flamen higher, see the Earth summary in Magic Access. It takes multiple levels of empowerment. Summoning the Lar and getting the The Tome of Gaia only saves one level of empowerment.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
2 | 3 | Starshine Skullcap | Cons. 7 | 10 |
See Air for how to make a Tome of High Power.
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
3 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
2 | + | Skull Staff | Cons. 5 | 10 |
4 | 5 | Empowerment 4 | 60 | |
5 | + | Skullface | Cons. 7 | 40 |
Unique | ||||
2 | + | The Flailing Hands Unique | Cons. 9 | 10 |
6 | + | Sun Slayer Unique | Cons. 9 | 60 |
6 | + | Sceptre of Dark Regency Unique | Cons. 9 | 60 |
Crosspaths | ||||
11 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
11 | 13 | Flamen + | ||
13 | The Copper Arm | Cons. 7 | 515 | |
3 | Augur Elder | 1 in 4 | ||
3 | 6 | Augur Elder + The Copper Arm + Skull Staff + Sceptre of Dark Regency | ||
11 | 33 | Flamen + | ||
33 | The Silver Arms | Cons. 9 | 1515 | |
3 | 5 | Augur Elder + The Silver Arms + Skull Staff + The Flailing Hands |
Old Level | New Level | How | Gems | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | ||||
1 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
1 | 2 | Contact Lar | Conj. 5 | 16 |
2 | + | Thistle mace | Cons. 5 | 10 |
3 | 5 | Empowerment 3 + Empowerment 4 | 45 60 |
|
5 | 6 | Treelord's Staff (Can't be used with Thistle Mace) | Cons. 7 | 40 |
Crosspaths | ||||
12 | 32 | Lar + | ||
32 | 33 | Contact Naiad | Conj. 5 | 25 |
3 | 4 | Naiad + | ||
12 | 22 | Lar + | ||
22 | + | The Tome of Gaia Unique | Cons. 9 | 1010 |
11 | Flamen | 1 in 5 | ||
11 | 13 | Flamen + | ||
13 | The Copper Arm | Cons. 7 | 515 | |
+ | Nature Mage + The Copper Arm + Thistle Mace + Treelord's Staff | 1 in 4 |
In order to get to the Treelord's Staff, normally two expensive levels of empowerment are needed. If a Naiad is summoned and the unique The Tome of Gaia is created, no empowerment is necessary. Forging The Copper Arm is very doable, and allows the Thistle Mace and Treelord's Staff to be used together, for a combined +.
No national access.
Old Level | New Level | How | School | Gems |
---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 1 | Troll King's Court | Conj. 6 | 65 |
3 | At least 1 | Summon Spectre (7 in 16) | Conj. 6 | 22 |
No national access.
How to win as the nation. Feel free to use the following sections, or delete them, or change them.
Different expansion options.
Early game options.
Mid game options.
Late game options.
Chassis: Awake Titan of Crossroads
Paths: 457
Bless: MW/Arcane Finesse, Invuln 10, Regen.
Scales: 6203123
What are the nation's weaknesses?
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