Abysia does not have any clear inspirational sources. Malign devil-worshiping empires of the fantasy genre combined with some ancient Middle Eastern concepts, perhaps. Think of great temple ziggurats adorned with ever-burning braziers fed with still-beating hearts in pompous ceremonies, witnessed by a cowed populace of slaves and smoldering Abysian rulers. Imagine magma-lit caverns filled with screams, roars, and fleeting shadows. With blood sacrifices being part of the official state cult, it might be considered an evil nation, but it is sprung from elemental forces and only under the infernal influence‒ and ignorance‒does the kingdom turn to evil. It is a tragic nation with a proud heritage, and dilution of their magic - perhaps due to temptation by infernal forces - leads it to embrace blood sacrifice. -Illwinter

Abysia is a hot wasteland, at the center of which lies a great volcano whose lava-lit caverns are inhabited by magma-born humanoids. Their flesh radiates heat, and they are not harmed by flames. Abysians are stronger than humans and use very heavy armor and weaponry. Bows are not used, as they would burn to cinders in the glowing hands of the Abysians. The war machine of Abysia also includes salamanders, lizard-like beings composed of the same hot lava-born flesh as the Abysians. The Anointed of Rhuax and the Anathemant Priests of the Flame Cult practice blood sacrifice to strengthen the power of the Awakening God. The Warlocks of the Smouldercone, a newly formed magical order, practice Blood magic and search for suitable blood slaves in conquered lands. Abysians prefer to live in extremely hot places. They do not farm or hunt for a living, so their income and supplies are not affected by the Growth or Death scale of a province. However, the population will still die slowly in Abysia-controlled provinces with Death scales.

Abysia is one of the original fourteen factions of the series, present in Dominions: Priests, Prophets, and Pretenders. The early version was made in Dominions 3, however, as an origin point; a way for players of Middle Abysia (the faction closest to the Abysia of the first game) to see how they ended up where they were. On that note, Late Abysia has origins in Dominions 2.

If you are considering picking this nation to play, what should you know?

Magic Access	Alt. Access	Unit Summary	Core Abilities	Buildings
4 (rare 5) 2 (rare 3) 1 (rare 2) 1 (rare 2) 3	Hero 324	Fire Immune Very Heavy Infantry Salamanders Abyssal Crossbreeds No Missile Weapons	Darkvision Fire Resistance Heat Aura Wasteland Survival Short Life Spans Old Age	Standard Forts Forts reduce heat scale deaths by two steps Extra gold and resources in cave forts.

Capitol Gems: 6

Heat limit +2
Death limit +1
Bless Points +2

Prefers Heat Scale +3

Growth and Death scales have half the standard effect on income and population growth, in addition to not affecting province supplies.

Mercenaries are about 25% more expensive.

Blood Sacrifice: Priests can sacrifice a blood slave at a temple to help extend the dominion.

The Smouldercone: Increases heat in the capitol by a maximum of five.

All the commanders have the following abilities: Darkvision (50% or more) Resist Fire (25 or more) Heat Aura (3 or more) Wasteland Survival

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Slayer 95 10 1	Stealthy (60) Assassin (1) Ambidextrous (3)	Commentary here.
	Demonbred 110 13 1 Capital Only	Darkvision (100%) Stealthy (60) Assassin (1) Ambidextrous (3) Flying	Commentary here.
	Beast Trainer 60 41 1	Animal Awe (4) Beastmaster (3)	Commentary here.
	Warlord 110 33 1	Ambidextrous (2) Beastmaster (3) Taskmaster (2) Prophet Shape (War Master)	Commentary here.
	Warlock Apprentice 75 1 2 Capital Only	1 7	A quick note: Abysian Heat Auras are obnoxious for Blood Slaves. The reach for Slave-use is wider than the Aura, but still. Consider having Blood Slaves gather around an indie commander, at least for longer battles.
	Warlock 190 1 2 Capital Only	12010% 11 Adept Cross Breeder (2) Old Age (35/35)
	Anathemant Salamander 245 1 2	21 9 Sacred Heat Aura (5)	Commentary here.
	Anathemant Dragon 365 2 4	312 13 Sacred Resist Fire (30) Heat Aura (6) Old Age (40/32)	Commentary here.
	Anointed of Rhuax 630 1 4 Capital Only	413010% 15 Sacred Resist Fire (35) Heat Aura (13) Fire Shield (12) Fire Power (2)	Commentary here.

All the troops have the following abilities: : Resist Fire (25) Heat Aura (3 or more) Wasteland Survival

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Abysian Infantry With Battleaxe 20 26 8	Darkvision (50%)	Commentary here.
	Abysian Infantry With Flail 20 26 8		Commentary here.
	Abysian Infantry With Axe 20 27 8		Commentary here.
	Abysian Infantry with Morningstar 20 28 8		Commentary here.
	Misbred 20 5 22 Capital Only	Darkvision (100%) Stealthy (40) Part Undead or Demon Ambidextrous (3) Flying Start Affliction (75) Add random age (300)	Commentary here.
	Salamander 50 1 15	Fire Power (1) Heat Aura (6) Wasteland Survival Undisciplined Animal	Commentary here.
	Burning One 70 36 13 Capital Only	Sacred Darkvision (50%) Heat Aura (6) Fire Shield (8) Fire Power (1) Ambidextrous (2) Berserker (3) Bad Formation Fighter (1)	Commentary here.

• Liquid Flames of Rhuax (Evocation 5)
  31
  Commentary here.
  
• Inner Furnace (Enchantment 5)
  3 and 1
  Commentary here.
  

• Infernal Breeding (Blood 3)
  2 and 25
  Commentary here.
  
• Hellscape (Alteration 6)
  4 and 10
  Commentary here.
  

See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.

• 4 on each Anointed of Rhuax (capital-only), 3 on Anathemant Dragons off-capital
• No air magic
• No water magic
• 1 on each Anathemant Dragon

• 1 on each Warlock (capital-only)
• No death magic
• No nature magic
• No glamour magic

• 2 on each Warlock (capital-only)
• 3 on each Anointed of Rhuax (capital-only), 2 on each Anathemant Dragon off-capital

• 41: Magma spells (Liquid Flames of Rhuax being the national example), Terracotta Soldiers, Iron Gryphons, scorpions
• 21: Horror spells such as Call Lesser Horror (though these generally require boosting)

Anointed of Rhuax starts at 4, making Fire easy to climb.

No native access. No simple summons.

No native access. No simple summons.

1 with no useful crosspaths makes for a difficult climb. Maybe empower the Warlock in Earth twice and Blood once. (The same Warlock can be used to go up the Blood path.) Once at 23, the Warlock can make a Blood Stone. At 43, the Warlock can summon Father Illearth and give him the Blood Stone.

Empower a Warlock to 2 , use Starshine Skullcap to get to 3, and hopefully get the Dimensional Rod. If using the same Warlock to go up Earth and Blood, which is risky, it can access many useful boosters and summons.

Malphas - Warlock starts at 324, great crosspaths for climbing Astral.

No native access. 8 can Bind Demon Lord for a 3 in 6 chance of at least 4.

No native access. No simple summons.

No native access. 5 can Bind Heliophagus for a 2 in 4 chance of at least 4.

4 can summon Troll King's Court for 1.

8 can Bind Demon Lord for a 3 in 6 chance of 3.

A Warlock will have to be empowered once to 3, but it is an easy climb at that point. Have the same Warlock climb Earth for benefits along both paths.

Malphas - Warlock is already at 4 and with an Astral booster can create the unique Tome of the Lower Planes.

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.

What are the nation's weaknesses?

Add links to guides or other overviews for this nation here.

Dominions 6: EA Abysia, Children of Flame 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 • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia