"Man is one of the first nations conceived in the Dominions universe. The nation is a conglomerate of medieval English and Arthurian concepts spiced with some fantasy elements from Ars Magica and the books of Robert Jordan. The Irish/Northumbrian monastic tradition, Anglo-Saxon society, and Welsh longbowmen are all inspirational sources. Later on, the nation turns towards scholarship paired with dark tidings. The mood in the movie Sleepy Hollow is a nice comparison.
In Dominions 4 steps has been taken to accentuate the influence of invading barbarians reminiscent of the Angles and Saxons. It is not difficult to see an early Ulm or a similar nation in the Logrian backstory." -Illwinter
The realm of Man is a feudal kingdom. Their kingdom was established by conquering a race of tall and magically powerful beings known as the Tuatha. When the Tuatha were destroyed, their magic was taken by the Witches of Man. They helped Man to grow in power and influence, but with the great magic came a great Curse and the Witches dwindled in number and magic left the kingdom. To contain the Curse, the Old Magic was banned and a scholarly order of Magisters replaced the Witches of Avalon and their wild ways. The infantry of Man has evolved since the Age of Avalon and the crossbow is common, but knights and longbowmen still make up a large part of the armies. The Wardens of Avalon have escaped the Curse and are the only remnant of the Old Ways.
Late Man is a somewhat-rough nation to play, quite set against its beginner-friendly middle incarnation. It has fairly decent soldiers, pony-riders, tier-5 forts, and studious mages who might not even know anything useful.
To start with, Man has a wide spectrum of troops: terrible ones, mediocre ones, and elites. There are varieties of the independent "heavy" infantry who wear green pants instead of red ones, from the previous age. There are stealthy men who wear glorified plainclothes and dual-wield, also from the previous age. There are axemen who wouldn't be out of place in Midgård, though they at least have enough Strength to penetrate armor with their risky weapon choice. There are archers, crossbowmen, and longbowmen, all of which narrowly outdo the projectile spam of most other nations with their extra point or two of Precision. There are even fellows who perform decently well both in melee combat and at range: the Tower Guard, the Defender, and the Sacred Warden. Last-but-not-least, there are the Tower Knights, who would much rather not fight alongside Man's crossbowmen. Simply picking what to use can be overwhelming.
Man can (and generally should) take decent Scales, to print money and men. Man's mages don't really mind Drain, given how they ignore it in their Research and typically use spells that don't operate off Magic Resistance. 3 means getting 21 (or 12) without affecting your Dominion strength or your Bless, for just that many more of whichever troops or commanders you want. The penalty to your starting Research points is fixed, something that having more forts will more than make up for.
As for the mages themselves, they are distinctly inconsistent, befitting a nation that essentially restarted from scratch fifty years ago. There are two official mages: the Lord Warden (who's priced as one of those "do-anything" commanders, like a Vanherse), and the "dedicated" Magister Arcane. The Magister Arcane is priced as a mid-tier combat mage, and essentially is one 90% of the time; he also has the problem of being vulnerable to an Astral war of attrition, but fortunately this is the Age where initiating one is the most expensive. There are also two "minor mages" for Research, but these aren't guaranteed to have any magic paths, though the one with the lowest chance of having any is balanced by costing only 1 Commander Point and not needing a lab. Those without magic levels still have at least one use, whether it's espionage, fort-popping, Citadel-improving, or Unrest-reducing.
Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 2 2 1 1 1 2 | Heroes 12 | Infantry Longbowmen Crossbow Heavy Infantry Knights Wardens of Avalon | Stealthy Spy Mason Unhindered Researcher | Starts with a Grand Citadel Standard Forts Magisters can build better forts. |
Capitol Gems: 1111
Drain Limit + 1
The humans of Man are completely all-over-the-place, statistically speaking. The two biggest groups are the average "men" and the Logrians; those of the latter group generally have 12 HP and 11 Strength, and 1 additional point of Attack Skill and Morale over what their station or training would suggest.
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Royal Forester 55 8 1 | Stealthy (55) Ambidextrous (1) Patrol Bonus (5) Forest Survival | A small premium on a scout who can ferry troops about. He's also a bit stealthier than the average Scout, which is nice. |
|
Castellan 95 22 1 | Your standard milquetoast Leader. | ||
Judge 100 1 1 | 125% 25% Patrol Bonus (20) Unhindered Researcher | Does not need a lab. On average, 3-in-8 have a level. (That means 3.1875 per guy.) The patrol bonus alone is useful, however, such as when trying to bootstrap blood. |
|
Magister of Theology 85 1 1 | 1 Sacred Inquisitor | More expensive than indie 1's, but not without reason. They're 2's for the purpose of beating off enemy Dominion, |
|
Bishop 100 1 2 | 2 Sacred Old Age (55/50) | It's just 15 dollars for another level. Why not get one, if you care at all? Sermon of Courage is nice. So are lvl-2 Banishments. |
|
Magister 135 1 2 | 150% 50% 25%7 Stealthy (40) Siege Bonus (15) Castle Defence (15) Spy Unhindered Researcher Mason | DOES require a lab. On average, 13-in-16 have a level. (That means 6.5625 per guy.) Their biggest perk is one not seen since early Arcoscephale; popping and propping (up) forts in mobs while still having other uses. |
|
Magister Arcane 240 1 2 | 211150%13 Old Age (63/50) Unhindered Researcher | Honestly not a bad mage. Any 10-percent-er is nice; 11's can block Magic Duel, for instance, while 3's need no explanation. |
|
Lord Warden 200 31 2 Capital Only | 117 Sacred Stealthy (40) Forest Survival Combat Caster | An Unseen One without trickery. (Unless being good at fighting is trickery.) He blesses your Wardens, maybe leads them on escapades, and does a little Site-Searching. 1's an interesting thug path, too. |
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Spearman 10 9 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Longspear 10 13 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Axeman 10 11 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Heavy Axeman 10 19 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Light Archer 10 4 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Crossbowman 10 9 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Tower Guard 12 23 14 | Castle Defence (1) | Commentary here. | |
Forester 12 7 14 Forest Recruit | Stealthy (55) Ambidextrous (1) Patrol Bonus (1) Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Longbowman 12 11 14 | Commentary here. | ||
Defender 16 27 23 | Castle Defence (2) | Commentary here. | |
Tower Knight 45 58 45 | Skilled Rider (2) | Commentary here. | |
Destrier | Animal | Commentary here. | |
Warden 26 31 31 Capital Only | Sacred Stealthy (40) Forest Survival | Commentary here. |
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Bernlad - Green Knight | Sacred Regeneration (10%) Stealthy (40) Skilled Rider (4) Forest Survival Recuperation | Can discover another Vale of Unicorns. It is hidden and will only be discovered if Bernlad is in the province. Provides another site to recruit Knight of Avalon and Commander of Avalon. (Event ID: 1421) May also recruit up to three free Knight Commanders from provinces with recruitable Knights. |
|
Armored Unicorn | Sacred Poison Resistance (10) Disease Resistance (100%) Stealthy (40) Smart Mount (100) Animal True Sight Forest Survival Recuperation | Commentary here. | |
Vampire Lord Earliest Arrival Turn (5) | 1211 Unique Fire Vulnerability Cold Resistance (15) Poison Resistance (25) Darkvision (100) Stealthy (40) Invulnerability (25) Cause Unrest (.5 per month) Seduction (Morale vs. 9) Population Killer (10 per Month) Immortal (1 Month Reform Time) Underwater Damage (100) Reforming Flesh (10%) Slash Resistant Blunt Resistant Undead Flying Cannot Cross River Need Not Eat | Commentary here. |
Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Summon Black Dogs (Conjuration 2) 2 and 5 | Black Dog x 20 | Dark Vision (100%) Stealthy (+60) Dark Power (2) Iron Vulnerability (1) Animal | Commentary here. |
Summon Cu Sidhe (Conjuration 3) 2 and 5 | Cu Sidhe x 10 | Sacred Dark Vision (50%) Stealthy (+40) Iron Vulnerability (1) Animal Forest Survival | Commentary here. |
Summon Barghests (Conjuration 4) 2 and 7 | Barghest x 14 | Dark Vision (100%) Stealthy (+60) Dark Power (3) Iron Vulnerability (1) Curse Attacker (5) Animal | Commentary here. |
Herd of Unicorns (Conjuration 4) 12 and 10 in Forest | Unicorn x 10 | Sacred Poison Resistance (10) Disease Resistance (100%) Stealthy (+40) Smart Mount (100) Animal True Sight Forest Survival Recuperation | Commentary here. |
Summon Bean Sidhe (Conjuration 5) 1 and 25 | Bean Sidhe | 111100%11 Sacred Cold Resistance (15) Poison Resistance (25) Stealthy (+60) Fear (+6) Assassin (2) Undead Ethereal Glamour Need Not Eat Forest Survival Spirit Sight Spell Singer Female | Commentary here. |
See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.
LA Man, like many Late Age nations, has a wide variety of magical paths, but low levels. For LA Man though, the magical crosspaths it has generally do not lead to many boosters.
Although LA Man has the right paths and crosspaths for a Ring of Sorcery, The Staff of Elemental Mastery, and a Ring of Wizardry, the mages' levels are so low it is difficult to get enough boosters for any of them.
Highest starting: 1 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) or Judge (1 in 4)
Skull of Fire 11 Judge (1 in 16)
Magister Arcane potentially has the right crosspaths for Staff of the Sun (Unique) or the Forbidden Light (Unique, Unremovable), but they require too many boosters to be practical.
Highest starting: 3 Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
Tome of High Power Unique 22 Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
No national access.
Summon Bean Sidhe?? The hero, 1 Vampire Lord Bean Sidhe has a 1 in 4 chance of 1
Summon Spectre The hero, 1 Vampire Lord + Spectre has a 7 in 16 chance of at least 1
Highest starting: 2 Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
Summon Bluecap 11 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) +
Although Magister and Magister Arcane both potentially have the right crosspaths for the Atlantis of Creation (Unique), it takes a ton of boosters.
Highest starting: 2 Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
Coin of Meteoritic Iron 12 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) +
Golem Construction 12 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) + Golem has 2
Tome of High Power Unique 22 Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
The Magister Arcane has the right crosspaths for The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur, Atlas of Creation, or The Forbidden Light, (all Unique), but the number and type of boosters they require is difficult to get.
Highest starting: 1 Judge (1 in 4)
The Black Book of Secrets Unique The hero, 12 Vampire Lord +
No national access.
Summon Gnome 11 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) + Gnome has 2.
Highest starting: 1 Lord Warden or Magister Arcane (1 in 10)
Mirage Crystal 11 Magister Arcane (1 in 10) +
The Magister Arcane has the right crosspaths for The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur.
No recruitable access. The hero, Vampire Lord has 2.
The Black Book of Secrets Unique The hero, 12 Vampire Lord +
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?