LA Gath, Last of the Giants

Gath is a land still trying to catch up to the prosperity of those around it. When it was known as Hinnom, it had a lead over its surroundings; this was provided by the Grigori (the "Watchers"), six angels of full Celestial splendor, who descended upon Mount Hermon and taught the Avvim their secrets. For better or for worse, the now-infamous Azazel taught the Avvim the "high arts" of civilization – cosmetics, warcraft, and exploitation – and the Avvim thus defeated the other small Giants in their lands.

The Watchers committed one undeniable sin, which had them excised from the world; they took Avvite wives and laid with them, resulting in the birth of the Nephilim. Though Titans of unquenchable appetites, the Nephilim were not demons but living men, and to banish them would require the flooding of the world. This never happened, and Hinnom did not have enough rain to keep the Nephilim cowed, so the insatiable goliaths made Hinnom theirs. They ate, used, and eventually discarded Hinnom, siring the Rephaim with Avvite wives of their own in the process. The Rephaim, in-turn, broke Hinnomite society; both with the size of their mouths, and with their quantity. All-male, and destined to sire only male children, the Rephaim were cursed by the Heavens (or genetics) to grow weaker with each generation; and the Avvite men, losing their wives and crushes to the Rephaites' charms, were destined to either degrade or disappear into this new subrace.

Gath is (or at least was) a vast land, largely vacant of its natives. The largest generation of Rephaim was in the era of Ashdod, perhaps the only Hinnomite city to survive the whims of the first brood; this was a dark age for the Rephaim, with little to eat and few women to court, one in which the "degenerated" Giants learned some decency and humility. But while a little suffering is good for the character, too much can bend an individual to dangerous extremes. Ashdod's ruling tribe, the Anakim, declined far more gracefully than the other Rephaim, and their lifespans kept up with their stature. There are still some Anakim who remember Ashdod's fall to either the humans or the Abysians, some who remember when humans didn't quarrel in their presence, and even some who recall stories of the first Rephaites' Bloody rites. Fearing for the survival of their final city, and given absolute control of religious affairs, the Anakim have ordered that blood shall be spilt anew… Only, instead of drinking it themselves, they shall offer it to strengthen their Lord and savior. The smaller folk are mixed on this, and even some of the smaller Giants are horrified.

"Hinnom, Ashdod and Gath are heavily influenced by ancient Israelite, Canaanite and Philistine concepts. I have always been intrigued and fascinated by biblical mythology, and had long I wanted to include the Nephilim and biblical Genesis myths into the game. However, I was worried that I would not do the sources justice, so it took a while before I finally got down to finishing the nations. The Bible, the Book of Enoch, the Dead Sea scrolls and the Ras Shamra texts of Ugarit and interpretations of these texts are the main sources of the nations. Gath, … draws more heavily from Israelite and Philistine concepts. Early Israelite religion and history with a centralized cult at the temple and Israelite tribes, combined with the legends of David and Goliath of Gath are obvious sources for the late iteration of the nation. I wanted the nation to be an abomination, slowly becoming more civilized throughout the ages. Hinnom is perhaps more than any other nation in the game an evil nation. I'm not very fond of the concept of evil, but it would be difficult to claim that the cannibalistic giants of Hinnom are anything but." -Illwinter

Compared to Hinnom and Ashdod that came before it, Gath features a far more human lineup in both its units and commanders. The giants have mostly diminished in size, with only the Kohen Gadol retaining the size and strength of the Rephaim of prior ages.

However, this reduction in size comes with it a number of unique opportunities. The mages are very affordable compared to those of earlier ages, and feature a greater variety of crosspaths away from the capital. These cheaper mages combined with the Iassacharite Sage give Gath a potential for research unparalleled by Hinnom and Ashdod, as well as a more versatile (albeit less reliable) mage corps. The Gibbor, though less impressive individually than the Rephaite Warrior or Anakite of previous eras, is still a powerful and affordable sacred that gives Gath reliable early game strength. Gath is even one of the few nations with a sacred recruitable in all forts, which provides great patrol strength to support its blood hunting.

Heat limit +1, prefers 1

Blood Sacrifice: May blood sacrifice to increase dominion. This ability is not transferred to disciple nations. Disciple nations with this ability can still use it. These nations do not have dying dominion.

• Strange Fire (Evocation 4)
  12
  Gath cannot cast this natively without a lucky random. A fairly good damage spell against demons/undead if castable, but certainly not available en masse.

• 2 on roughly every third Kohen Gadol (capital-only)*, 1 on one-in-three Kohens off-capital
• No Air magic
• No Water magic
• 2 on roughly every third Kohen Gadol (capital-only)*, and on one-in-four Yeddeonis off-capital

• 2 on roughly every third Kohen Gadol (capital-only)*, 1 on Iassacharite Sibyls off-capital
• 2 on one-in-four Yeddeonis
• 2 on Abbas
• No Glamour magic

• 2 on Kohen Gadols (capital-only), 1 on Kohens off-capital
• 3 on Kohen Gadols (capital-only), 2 on Kohens off-capital

*The random paths on each Kohen Gadol are linked, so the results are either two levels or zero.

Call Merkavah at Conjuration 9 summons a Chayot, an 44 mage. It can change shape to have 4, 4, and 4, but it cannot have crosspaths. It also requires a Pretender with the right paths to reasonably be able to summon, and a very high level of research to access.

See Magic Access guide for how to boost to higher levels of magic.

Dominions 6: LA Gath Pre-game by Babel Builder

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Pyrène, • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Muspelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Pyrène • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Nidavangr • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Feminie • Piconye • Andramania • Pyrène • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia